Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $105.04 Million Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 74.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,315 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Booking were worth $105,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter worth about $401,371,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in shares of Booking by 20.5% during the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 2,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,518,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Booking by 50.2% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,904,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 14.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,540,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter worth $537,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Booking in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reduced their target price on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,125.01 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,272.88. The company has a market cap of $138.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,805.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,766.25.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $37.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.