CCM Investment Advisers LLC Cuts Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

CCM Investment Advisers LLC lessened its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,314 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Booking makes up approximately 2.4% of CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $19,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Booking by 521,609.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,887,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,362,892 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 621,874.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,295,423,000 after buying an additional 864,406 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,958,352,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Booking by 51.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 280,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,394,283,000 after buying an additional 95,308 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Booking by 18.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,461.95 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5,076.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4,943.51. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,639.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $20.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share 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 paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. B. Riley boosted their price target on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. BTIG Research raised shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,500.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cfra upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,388.37.

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.