Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Becker Capital Management Inc.

Becker Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 80 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 17 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. DA Davidson upped their price target on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,262.41.

Booking Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,099.28 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $4,648.25 and its 200-day moving average is $4,806.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $20.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 paid a $9.60 dividend. 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 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.