Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Cuts Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lessened its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,020,750 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 26,811 shares during the period. Booking makes up approximately 0.6% of Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 3.08% of Booking worth $5,071,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Passumpsic Savings Bank increased its holdings in Booking by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 699 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,944,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 268.5% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,147,000 after buying an additional 1,756 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 3,561.9% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,076 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,992 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Booking by 27.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,550 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,529,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its holdings in Booking by 404.4% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 459 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,933,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,598.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,669.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4,784.40. The company has a market cap of $150.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.18 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $5,120.00 price objective (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BTIG Research upgraded Booking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5,500.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $5,750.00 to $4,850.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eleven equities research 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.com, Booking presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,278.66.

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.

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