Sterling Capital Management LLC Acquires 349 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 27.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,631 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 349 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $8,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG traded down $29.69 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $4,556.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 288,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,546. 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 market capitalization of $149.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4,712.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,771.67.

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Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is an increase from Booking's previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Booking's payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective 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 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,327.28.

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.