Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,226 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Booking were worth $16,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Booking by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on BKNG shares. B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,120.00 price target (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $4,591.89 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4,797.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,690.53. The company has a market cap of $150.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is 22.19%.

Booking 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.