Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Invests $2.43 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired 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 SEC. The institutional investor acquired 489 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,430,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its position in Booking by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $865,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 348 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unique Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,021,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,262.42 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4,689.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $4,862.12. The company has a market capitalization of $171.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $20.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,567.00 to $4,692.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,299.29.

Booking Company Profile

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.