Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Takes $89,000 Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 25 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $89,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 5,513 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,556,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd increased its stake in shares of Booking by 89.3% during the fourth quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 265 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $642,000. Trust Co of Kansas purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $3,608,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Booking by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 69 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho upped their price target on Booking from $3,580.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Susquehanna upped their price target on Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,723.41.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $70.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $3,533.99. 151,805 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 270,866. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,456.93 and a 12 month high of $3,918.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $3,560.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,378.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.76 billion, a PE ratio of 29.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $24.74 EPS. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.67%.

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.