MML Investors Services LLC Decreases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

MML Investors Services LLC lessened its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,183 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,433 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $55,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. raised 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 worth $9,321,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Booking by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $896,455,000 after buying an additional 8,735 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Booking by 20.3% during the fourth 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. lifted its holdings 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 worth $29,160,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $166,787,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $12.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $4,815.24. 93,029 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 249,389. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4,658.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $4,788.57. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. 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 (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BKNG. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank lowered Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Booking from $5,248.00 to $4,567.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,278.66.

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.