Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 18.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,002 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $21,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Booking by 600.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. B. Riley upped their price target on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on Booking from $4,580.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,465.48 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $4,816.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,682.53.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Booking’s payout ratio is 22.19%.

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.