Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Invests $38.03 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,654 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $38,028,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Down 1.3%

Booking stock opened at $5,310.68 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,379.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,775.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4,888.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $20.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $5,750.00 to $4,850.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,299.29.

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.