Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Acquires Shares of 7,471 Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. bought a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,332,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in Booking by 3,475.0% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 3,550.0% in the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN lifted its holdings in Booking by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $209.62 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.14 and a 1 year high of $231.80. The company has a market cap of $157.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $188.60 and a 200-day moving average of $177.19.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The business had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $55.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders 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 is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BKNG. HSBC reduced their price objective on Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Truist Financial set a $242.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Booking and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.72.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total value of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. This trade represents a 25.06% 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 have sold a total of 140,050 shares of company stock worth $26,341,680 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

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.