GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd Has $630.77 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd decreased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 126,956 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 17,444 shares during the period. Booking makes up 10.2% of GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd owned 0.38% of Booking worth $630,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Booking by 600.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $5,850.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,370.43.

Remove Ads

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $11.36 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $4,752.80. The stock had a trading volume of 194,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,482. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $4,784.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,721.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

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

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.