Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan Buys 221,700 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan grew its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,494.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 230,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 221,700 shares during the quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan’s holdings in Booking were worth $41,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 16,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total transaction of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. The trade was a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 77,550 shares of company stock worth $16,112,304. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $205.63 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $192.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $226.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The company had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $55.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on BKNG shares. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wedbush increased their target price on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $234.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.45.

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.