Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Acquired by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,491 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,921 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up approximately 1.5% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG owned approximately 0.05% of Booking worth $86,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Booking by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 31 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 124 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted 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 worth $472,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. B. Riley lifted their target price on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of Booking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5,500.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Eleven 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,278.66.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG traded up $10.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $4,838.44. The stock had a trading volume of 189,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,193. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,337.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,652.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,792.75. The company has a market capitalization of $158.77 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Booking's previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 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.