Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Cuts Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,071 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Booking were worth $100,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,673.38 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $153.36 billion, a PE ratio of 27.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $4,872.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,662.88. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. Cfra raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Booking from $4,580.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

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.