Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Grows Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1,865.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,292 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Booking by 2,720.6% in the second quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 316,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,364,000 after buying an additional 305,012 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust lifted its holdings in Booking by 2,402.1% during the 2nd quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 3,507 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Booking by 2,381.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 3,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 3,191 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of Booking by 2,334.5% during the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 70,820 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,623,000 after acquiring an additional 67,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delta Asset Management LLC TN increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 350 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG opened at $205.63 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.64. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $226.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $55.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price target on Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Booking from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.45.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $79,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at $3,404,063. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,100,500. This trade represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. 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 sold a total of 77,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,112,304 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by 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.