Trajan Wealth LLC Acquires 319 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Trajan Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,597 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises 1.8% of Trajan Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $32,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Booking by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,321,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Booking by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $896,455,000 after purchasing an additional 8,735 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,495,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,160,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $166,787,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $96.94 during trading on Thursday, reaching $4,827.97. The company had a trading volume of 238,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,631. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,337.24. The business's 50-day moving average is $4,663.04 and its 200 day moving average is $4,784.04. The stock has a market cap of $158.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Booking's previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Erste Group Bank cut Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Booking from $5,750.00 to $4,850.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. 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 note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,278.66.

Booking Company 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.