Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Bought by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,900 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.09% of Booking worth $153,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BKNG. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Booking by 621,874.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,295,423,000 after acquiring an additional 864,406 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,958,352,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 51.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 280,629 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,394,283,000 after purchasing an additional 95,308 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Booking by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 88,754 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $440,967,000 after buying an additional 50,605 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,089,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock traded up $10.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $4,838.44. 189,557 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,193. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,337.24. The stock has a market cap of $158.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's 50 day moving average is $4,652.64 and its 200 day moving average is $4,792.75.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a positive change from Booking's previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Booking's payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BKNG. UBS Group increased their price objective on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,278.66.

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.