Stevens Capital Management LP Takes $2.24 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 450 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,236,000. Booking accounts for approximately 0.9% of Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 258 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in Booking by 0.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 662 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,788,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.3% during the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 241 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $989,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.9% in the third quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $5,850.00 target price for the company. Eleven investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $11.36 on Thursday, hitting $4,752.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 194,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,482. The company has a market capitalization of $155.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24. The stock's 50-day moving average is $4,784.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,721.67.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.18 billion. Equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. 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 0.81%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

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.