Guardian Partners Inc. Makes New $1.82 Million Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 374 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,822,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $70,119,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,137 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,586,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,494,000. Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,549,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of Booking by 90.9% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 695 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,455,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Down 0.2 %

BKNG traded down $11.36 on Thursday, hitting $4,752.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 194,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,482. The firm has a market cap of $155.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $4,784.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4,721.67. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24.

Remove Ads

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.18 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. Equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Booking's previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BKNG. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Cfra raised shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. B. Riley lifted their price target on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

Booking 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.