Quantbot Technologies LP Invests $2.49 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 502 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,494,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Booking by 600.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $5,120.00 target price (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,617.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $151.52 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,789.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4,700.90.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The business 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, sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business 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 $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.