Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Holdings Raised by J. Stern & Co. LLP

J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 722 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Booking accounts for 0.3% of J. Stern & Co. LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. J. Stern & Co. LLP’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BKNG. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on Booking from $4,448.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,400.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,785.00.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG traded down $68.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $5,108.83. The company had a trading volume of 444,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,371. The company has a market capitalization of $169.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,079.50 and a twelve month high of $5,237.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $4,505.25 and its 200-day moving average is $4,053.29.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 23.75%.

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.