Metropolis Capital Ltd Sells 5,121 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Metropolis Capital Ltd decreased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,402 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,121 shares during the period. Booking makes up approximately 6.0% of Metropolis Capital Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Metropolis Capital Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $170,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 80.0% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 9 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 10 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Booking from $3,940.00 to $4,510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Booking from $4,580.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Argus lowered Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Booking from $4,500.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,997.64.

Booking Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,818.14 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24. The stock has a market cap of $159.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5,035.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $4,398.27.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.75%.

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.