Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Increases Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 35.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,745 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,165 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.07% of Booking worth $118,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position 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 valued at $4,295,423,000 after purchasing an additional 864,406 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Booking by 1.4% during 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 buying an additional 11,211 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,321 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 3.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 418,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,763,797,000 after acquiring an additional 13,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $1,249,311,000 after acquiring an additional 11,649 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,580.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Cfra upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,400.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $4,838.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $4,669.48.

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. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. As a group, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Booking’s payout ratio 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.