MUFG Securities EMEA plc Makes New $17.74 Million Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,736,000. Booking comprises 1.0% of MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,742,160,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 2,479.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 116,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $414,234,000 after acquiring an additional 112,249 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,774,850,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Booking by 139.8% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 65,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $201,166,000 after acquiring an additional 37,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Booking by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 101,736 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $317,313,000 after purchasing an additional 30,015 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG traded up $42.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3,795.35. The stock had a trading volume of 151,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,719. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,604.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,499.25. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,456.93 and a twelve month high of $3,918.00. The firm has a market cap of $128.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $11.60 EPS. Analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total value of $1,045,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,752,005. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total value of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at $14,752,005. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 28 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,498.29, for a total value of $97,952.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $815,101.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,651 shares of company stock valued at $19,485,975 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $3,950.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $4,205.00 target price (up previously from $4,150.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,850.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,876.96.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.