Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by U S Global Investors Inc.

U S Global Investors Inc. lessened its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,082 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises 2.0% of U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $20,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,321,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in Booking by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 931 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,921,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $896,455,000 after purchasing an additional 8,735 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Booking by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,160,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Booking by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $166,787,000 after buying an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,918.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,899.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4,596.93. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. Analysts anticipate 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 represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on BKNG. Argus lowered Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.