Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,647 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 31 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $13,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Booking by 600.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 80.0% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 9 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Booking by 66.7% during the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 10 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $5,400.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Cfra upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Booking from $3,940.00 to $4,510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,034.55 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,337.24. The firm has a market cap of $165.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4,900.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $4,594.68.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $9.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

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.