Vestcor Inc Raises Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Vestcor Inc raised its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 184 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Booking were worth $7,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Booking Trading Up 1.1 %

BKNG stock opened at $4,400.52 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4,838.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4,669.48. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,337.24. The company has a market cap 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 (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. Equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Booking from $4,580.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Cfra upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine investment 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

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.