Intech Investment Management LLC Has $16.03 Million Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 56.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,226 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,205 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $16,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Adero Partners LLC bought a new position in Booking during the third quarter worth $214,000. Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in Booking by 81.1% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 163 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. acquired a new position in Booking during the third quarter worth about $206,000. MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 15.4% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 12,977 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 232.5% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Cfra raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,563.39 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,337.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,809.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,687.26. The company has a market cap of $149.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current 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 issued a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.