Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up 1.2% of Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $26,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 600.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 80.0% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 9 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,898.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4,891.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4,640.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. Equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Cfra upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $5,120.00 price objective (up previously from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.