Woodline Partners LP Has $24.92 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Woodline Partners LP lessened its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 39.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,016 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,334 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP’s holdings in Booking were worth $24,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Booking by 600.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,310.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $172.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average is $4,775.16 and its 200-day moving average is $4,888.48. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,379.98.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $20.39 EPS. Analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS 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 paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $5,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Booking from $4,567.00 to $4,692.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank cut Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.