NFJ Investment Group LLC Invests $67.26 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 12,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $67,258,000. Booking comprises 2.4% of NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $164.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $127.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $169.43 and its 200 day moving average is $184.11. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.14 and a 52-week high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. Booking’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,081,600. The trade was a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total transaction of $3,100,331.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at $55,269,532.64. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 97,076 shares of company stock valued at $16,417,121 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BKNG. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 target price (down from $180.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $256.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $272.00 to $264.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $226.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.14.

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.