Sciencast Management LP Makes New $2.55 Million Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 513 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,549,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $13.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $4,764.16. 179,293 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 232,679. The firm has a market cap of $156.34 billion, a PE ratio of 27.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4,788.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,721.16.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Cfra raised Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $5,120.00 target price (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,370.43.

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.