Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 390 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 43 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for about 0.6% of Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Intrust Bank NA lifted its stake in Booking by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 642 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,190,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,939,000. Horizon Investment Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,021,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS grew its position in Booking by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 5,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,592,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,656,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,634.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,779.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4,727.45. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The company 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given 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 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is 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.