Stifel Financial Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,813 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in Booking were worth $58,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Booking by 600.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $6,100.00 to $5,600.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,278.66.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock traded up $10.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $4,838.44. 189,557 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,193. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $4,652.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,792.75. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,337.24. The stock has a market cap of $158.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Booking's previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

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.