Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $17.19 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. cut its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up 0.7% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $17,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Booking by 600.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,709.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $154.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.22, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,788.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,713.79. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America increased their target price on Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5,120.00 target price (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

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.