United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Makes New Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 200 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $994,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 621,874.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,295,423,000 after buying an additional 864,406 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Booking by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 797,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,350,605,000 after acquiring an additional 11,211 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Booking by 0.5% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 492,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,073,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 296,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,311,000 after acquiring an additional 11,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 214,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,064,161,000 after purchasing an additional 4,258 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. B. Riley raised their price objective on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. DA Davidson upped their target price on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark lifted their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,777.91 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $4,788.50 and its 200 day moving average is $4,721.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued 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 negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s payout ratio is 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.