Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 52.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,061 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Booking were worth $25,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 600.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 80.0% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 9 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BKNG. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,580.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $5,850.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

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Booking Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $22.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $4,673.38. 296,899 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 279,607. The company has a market capitalization of $153.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. 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 50 day moving average price of $4,872.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $4,656.42.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The business 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 $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Booking's previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Booking's payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

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.