Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $18,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Booking by 37.2% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 64,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $151,044,000 after acquiring an additional 17,432 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Booking by 18.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter worth $387,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Booking by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,767,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Booking by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 0.7 %

BKNG opened at $3,443.91 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,456.93 and a 52 week high of $3,918.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3,586.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,364.25. The company has a market cap of $117.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $24.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BKNG. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 price objective for the company. Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,723.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825 in the last 90 days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.