DnB Asset Management AS Raises Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Booking were worth $29,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 2.2% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Booking by 2.0% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Booking by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Benchmark lifted their target price 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. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $4,634.24 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $4,779.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,727.45. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24. The company has a market capitalization of $152.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.