Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Has $4.16 Million Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. raised its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,516.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,446 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $205.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $192.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.64. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $226.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,000. This represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus increased their price objective on Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.45.

Booking Company Profile

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.