Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Motco

Motco decreased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises 1.2% of Motco’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Motco’s holdings in Booking were worth $11,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 80.0% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 9 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Booking by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 10 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock opened at $4,918.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $161.39 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $4,899.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,596.93.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Sell-side 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 announced 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 represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. 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. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,580.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.