Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stake Lessened by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,926,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15,663 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Booking worth $14,539,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Booking by 88.8% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 168 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in Booking by 0.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,788,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 20.1% during the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,435,000. Finally, Stonebrook Private Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking during the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,617.26 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,789.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,700.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.52 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cfra upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

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.