Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,366 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $55,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,321,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Booking by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $896,455,000 after purchasing an additional 8,735 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Booking by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,495,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Booking by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,160,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $166,787,000 after buying an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

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Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $91.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $4,586.53. 304,917 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 248,388. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24. The company's 50-day moving average is $4,715.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,769.51. The company has a market capitalization of $150.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is an increase from Booking's previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Booking from $5,248.00 to $4,567.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted 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 report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Cfra raised Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,327.28.

Booking Company 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.