Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Position Increased by First National Advisers LLC

First National Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for 1.0% of First National Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $5,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Booking by 621,874.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,295,423,000 after purchasing an additional 864,406 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 797,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,350,605,000 after buying an additional 11,211 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 492,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,073,508,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 418,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,763,797,000 after purchasing an additional 13,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 296,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,311,000 after purchasing an additional 11,649 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 4.0 %

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,465.48 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4,816.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $4,677.04. The stock has a market cap of $146.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion during 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BKNG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Baird R W raised Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Cfra raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.