Prudent Man Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Prudent Man Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 222 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12 shares during the period. Prudent Man Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 7.8% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 69 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in Booking by 103.1% during the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 390 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,693,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 3.9% in the third quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,050,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its position in Booking by 27.3% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,025,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 5.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 478 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,015,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. B. Riley lifted their price target on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5,120.00 price target (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,016.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $164.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39. 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 50 day moving average price of $4,898.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4,607.88.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its 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 the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.19%.

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.