Legal & General Group Plc Has $1.08 Billion Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 217,628 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 56,736 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.66% of Booking worth $1,081,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $91.89 on Friday, hitting $4,586.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 304,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,358. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4,715.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4,766.03.

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Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.18 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $9.60 dividend. 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 0.84%. This is a positive change from Booking's previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BTIG Research raised Booking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5,500.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,327.28.

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.