Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $9.61 Million Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,934 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 72 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $9,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,451.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $146.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,861.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,667.69. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Benchmark lifted their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho lifted their price target on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking presently 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.