UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Raises Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 29.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,854 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $62,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 600.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Cfra upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, B. Riley boosted their target price on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,764.16 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,787.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4,721.46. The stock has a market cap of $156.34 billion, a PE ratio of 27.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. 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 0.81%. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.19%.

Booking Company 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.