Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,643.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 527,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 508,197 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Booking worth $94,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $361,463,000. Rit Capital Partners PLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $51,396,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 1,663.9% during the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,115,000 after purchasing an additional 27,071 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $210,352,000. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 862.0% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,890,000 after purchasing an additional 195,411 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 0.6%

Booking stock opened at $212.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $231.80. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $184.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.04.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $55.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BKNG. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% 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. Insiders have sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.