Aviva PLC Increases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Aviva PLC lifted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 512 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.07% of Booking worth $115,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 394 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,236,000. Prudential PLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 86.1% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 1,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,052,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,675,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Climber Capital SA purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $377,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,284.02 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24. The stock has a market cap of $140.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $4,757.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,750.17.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The company 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,120.00 price objective (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. B. Riley lifted their price target on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Benchmark upped their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,374.90.

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.