Beacon Financial Group Cuts Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Beacon Financial Group cut its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 23 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Booking by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 31 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 124 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP boosted its stake in Booking by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 12 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Trading Up 0.2%

Booking stock opened at $5,570.52 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $4,971.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,929.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.26 billion, a PE ratio of 32.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,639.70.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. The business 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%. Booking’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $20.39 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,377.33.

About Booking

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.