TD Asset Management Inc Purchases 3,566 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 114,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,566 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.35% of Booking worth $612,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,271,041,000. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 28,353.8% in the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 204,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,083,000 after acquiring an additional 203,580 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 61.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 215,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,165,546,000 after acquiring an additional 82,326 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 8,004.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 70,430 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $377,176,000 after acquiring an additional 69,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $361,463,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $164.78 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $233.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.74.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective (down from $180.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Booking from $226.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Booking from $248.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Booking from $216.28 to $187.92 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 425,075 shares in the company, valued at $69,572,025.25. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,269,532.64. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,076 shares of company stock worth $16,417,121. Company insiders own 0.16% 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.