Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Holdings Lowered by Wedgewood Partners Inc.

Wedgewood Partners Inc. decreased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 271 shares during the period. Booking accounts for approximately 5.7% of Wedgewood Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Wedgewood Partners Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $28,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Realta Investment Advisors purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $520,000. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $229,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 145 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,970,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 874 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,346,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. BTIG Research raised Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,500.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Benchmark increased their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Booking from $4,567.00 to $4,692.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,299.29.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,317.07 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $173.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,337.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4,735.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,881.13.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.