Aristides Capital LLC Has $2.68 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Aristides Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 540 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Booking accounts for 0.5% of Aristides Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Booking by 30.6% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,522,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 92.3% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,739,000 after buying an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Booking by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 6,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,017,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,951,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 3.7 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,284.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $4,757.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,755.12.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. BTIG Research raised Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,500.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,374.90.

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.