Securian Asset Management Inc. Grows Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Securian Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2,247.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,591 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,714 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its stake in Booking by 191,965.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,171,489,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Booking by 1,497.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,665,168,000 after buying an additional 816,022 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 66,209.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 659,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $117,600,000 after buying an additional 658,788 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Booking by 2,548.6% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 649,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,785,000 after acquiring an additional 625,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $3,271,041,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,625 shares of company stock valued at $15,872,675. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 0.6%

BKNG stock opened at $212.06 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $231.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.04.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

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.