Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Makes New $468.25 Million Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 86,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $468,252,000. Booking comprises approximately 1.5% of Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,210,917,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Booking by 578,824.0% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,675,765,000 after buying an additional 289,412 shares during the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 658,925.0% during the second quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 105,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $610,441,000 after acquiring an additional 105,428 shares in the last quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth about $536,675,000. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth about $347,192,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,027.00 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $4,096.23 and a one year high of $5,839.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5,188.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5,347.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. The firm had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. Booking’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $83.39 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BKNG. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Booking in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $6,100.00 price objective on the stock. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Seaport Global Securities upped their price target on shares of Booking from $6,030.00 to $6,260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Gordon Haskett raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,620.00 to $5,710.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of Booking from $6,250.00 to $6,400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6,225.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,191.15, for a total value of $77,867.25. Following the sale, the director directly owned 687 shares in the company, valued at $3,566,320.05. This trade represents a 2.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 953 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,181.34, for a total transaction of $4,937,817.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 19,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,631,984.10. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,324 shares of company stock worth $17,190,323 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking 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.