Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 10 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $50,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Booking by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in Booking by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 348 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unique Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,021,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,262.42 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $4,689.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,862.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly 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. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $20.39 earnings per share. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 0.73%. Booking’s payout ratio is 23.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BTIG Research raised Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,500.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,299.29.

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.