Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Acquires New Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,054,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,495,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its stake in Booking by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,459,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Hickory Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,624,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in Booking by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 11,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,751,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,293.31 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,379.98. The stock has a market cap of $172.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $4,791.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $4,891.27.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $20.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on BKNG. Benchmark upped their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cfra raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Erste Group Bank cut Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. B. Riley upped their price objective on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BTIG Research raised Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,500.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Ten 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,299.29.

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.