Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 27.8%, acquiring 39,523 shares and now holding 181,515 shares valued at $836,223,000.
• Booking Holdings reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and marking a 16.0% year-over-year revenue increase with revenue of $6.80 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.7%, to be distributed on September 30th to stockholders of record on September 5th.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 27.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 181,515 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 39,523 shares during the period. Booking makes up 0.8% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.56% of Booking worth $836,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 521,609.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,887,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,362,892 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Booking by 1,411.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 112,201 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $516,900,000 after buying an additional 104,780 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Booking by 182.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 104,643 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $482,081,000 after buying an additional 67,562 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,831,499,000 after purchasing an additional 58,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 132.7% in the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 88,754 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $440,967,000 after purchasing an additional 50,605 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $26.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5,405.91. The stock had a trading volume of 186,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 199,192. The company has a market capitalization of $175.21 billion, a PE ratio of 37.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5,569.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5,095.71. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,394.85 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $41.90 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.71%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total value of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 3,039 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,769 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $6,700.00 target price (up from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,781.04.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.