Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $318.78 Million Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group cut its Booking Holdings stake by 27.9% in the first quarter, but still held 75,714 shares worth about $318.8 million.
• Booking’s analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.11 despite some mixed target adjustments.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.14 and revenue of $5.53 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 27.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 75,714 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 29,325 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $318,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Elgethun Capital Management boosted its holdings in Booking by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 97 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.4% during the third quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 60 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 57 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its position in shares of Booking by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 140 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,003,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Booking from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Argus lifted their price objective on Booking from $188.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on Booking from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, HSBC decreased their price target on Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,081,600. This trade represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 80,351 shares of company stock worth $13,545,706 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $174.29 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $231.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $168.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.02.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.52 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company's businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

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