Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 431 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 127 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Booking by 600.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,617.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4,789.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,700.90. The company has a market cap of $151.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, 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.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Baird R W raised Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.