Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Distillate Capital Partners LLC

Distillate Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,036 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up about 1.4% of Distillate Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Distillate Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $29,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 600.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BKNG. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Cfra upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,327.28.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,586.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $150.51 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,715.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4,766.03. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Booking Company 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.