Bender Robert & Associates Trims Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Bender Robert & Associates cut its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. Booking comprises 2.2% of Bender Robert & Associates’ portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Bender Robert & Associates’ holdings in Booking were worth $8,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,321,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Booking by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $896,455,000 after acquiring an additional 8,735 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Booking by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,160,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Booking by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $166,787,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd grew its stake in Booking by 25.0% during the third quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 500 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,580.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,353.41 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $4,849.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,671.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.19%.

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.