Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. by 6.8%, bringing its total shares to 10,781, valued at approximately $49.7 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Booking Holdings reported earnings of $55.40 per share for its most recent quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and representing a 16% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%, to be paid out on September 30th.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,781 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Booking were worth $49,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,956,462 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,620,154,000 after buying an additional 30,054 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 521,609.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,887,718,000 after buying an additional 2,362,892 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Booking by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,831,499,000 after buying an additional 58,357 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Booking by 6.6% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 296,331 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,365,170,000 after buying an additional 18,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Booking by 3.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,200 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,023,655,000 after purchasing an additional 8,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BKNG. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $6,200.00 price objective (up previously from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,411.00 to $5,418.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,781.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at $151,674,935. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Booking Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of BKNG traded down $30.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $5,454.29. The stock had a trading volume of 155,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,535. The company's 50-day moving average is $5,562.05 and its 200 day moving average is $5,115.58. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,592.28 and a 12-month high of $5,839.41. The company has a market capitalization of $176.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $41.90 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Booking Company Profile

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.