Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Acquired by Ted Buchan & Co

Ted Buchan & Co increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the quarter. Ted Buchan & Co’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Booking by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 822 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,082,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $2,335,000. Aviva PLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 23,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,317,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 394 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $50,236,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. B. Riley upped their price objective on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,374.90.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $4,284.02 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4,757.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4,750.17. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24. The company has a market capitalization of $140.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during 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%. Equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $9.60 dividend. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend 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.