Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Acquired by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 21 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,321,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 55.9% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,921,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Booking by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $896,455,000 after acquiring an additional 8,735 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,160,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 5.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,946.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.31 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $4,896.45 and its 200-day moving average is $4,631.73.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) 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. 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%. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on Booking from $4,580.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

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.