Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Raises Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 36.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Booking by 600.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in Booking by 80.0% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 9 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Baird R W raised shares of Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,673.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $153.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $4,872.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,656.42. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

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.