Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 26 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $4,465.48 on Monday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4,816.74 and a 200-day moving average of $4,682.53. The company has a market capitalization of $146.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upped 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. Baird R W upgraded shares of Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

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.