Millstone Evans Group LLC Invests $383,000 in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 77 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 600.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,617.26 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4,789.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,694.74. 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 cap of $151.52 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company 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 research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Cfra raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $5,120.00 price target (up previously from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 price target on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

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.