Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Nuveen Asset Management LLC

Nuveen Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 401,102 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 54,421 shares during the period. Booking accounts for about 0.6% of Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,992,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 621,874.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,295,423,000 after buying an additional 864,406 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 803,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,986,244,000 after acquiring an additional 6,009 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $1,958,352,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Booking by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,831,499,000 after acquiring an additional 58,357 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 285,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,416,318,000 after acquiring an additional 3,926 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,299.29.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG opened at $5,262.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $171.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4,689.43 and a 200-day moving average of $4,862.12. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $20.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

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.