Hancock Whitney Corp Acquires 93 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 25.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 455 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 93 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Booking were worth $2,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Booking by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 31 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 124 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position in Booking by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $51.51 on Monday, reaching $4,889.95. The company had a trading volume of 232,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,541. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4,652.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,799.78. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.18 billion. On average, sell-side 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 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Booking's payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Benchmark increased their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush upped their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,263.28.

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.