Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Position Raised by Polar Capital Holdings Plc

Polar Capital Holdings Plc raised its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s holdings in Booking were worth $25,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently 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. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, 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. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,237.74 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,716.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,870.70. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24. The firm has a market cap of $170.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $20.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Booking’s payout ratio is 23.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BTIG Research raised Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,500.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $5,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,299.29.

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.