Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Purchases 202 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. boosted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 374.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 256 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $5,400.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,295.40 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,337.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4,825.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4,666.88. The firm has a market cap of $140.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio 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.