Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Cuts Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc cut its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Booking were worth $17,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock opened at $4,586.53 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $4,715.54 and its 200 day moving average is $4,766.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.51 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The firm 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5,120.00 price target (up previously from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,327.28.

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.