Millstone Evans Group LLC Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 77 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 621,874.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,295,423,000 after purchasing an additional 864,406 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Booking by 342,723.5% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 233,120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $981,929,000 after purchasing an additional 233,052 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $207,089,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 3,940.8% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,428 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $190,926,000 after buying an additional 37,477 shares during the period. Finally, Harvard Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at about $155,427,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $13.75 on Wednesday, reaching $4,764.16. 179,293 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 232,679. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company's 50 day moving average is $4,788.50 and its 200-day moving average is $4,721.16.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cfra upgraded shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho raised their target price on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

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.