Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $42,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $939,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its position in Booking by 1.1% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 540 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,275,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in Booking by 27.5% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 2,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,387,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in Booking by 1.8% during the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 168 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the third quarter valued at $2,881,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,347.82 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4,043.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,842.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.74 billion, a PE ratio of 30.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,395.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $37.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 177.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. StockNews.com cut Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $4,448.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,256.89.

About Booking

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.