AKO Capital LLP Sells 3,109 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

AKO Capital LLP decreased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,109 shares during the period. Booking makes up approximately 5.0% of AKO Capital LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. AKO Capital LLP’s holdings in Booking were worth $360,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $896,455,000 after purchasing an additional 8,735 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,495,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,160,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Booking by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $166,787,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 0.3 %

Booking stock opened at $4,764.16 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,337.24. The stock has a market cap of $156.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4,787.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,721.46.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The firm 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%. Research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $9.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Booking’s payout ratio is 22.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho raised their price target on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.