Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP lessened its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 68.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 224 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Booking were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 27.3% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,025,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 478 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,015,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at about $315,000. VELA Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,016.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $4,898.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,615.15. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,337.24. The company has a market capitalization of $164.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for 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%. On average, analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on BKNG. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America upped their target price on Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com cut Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Baird R W raised shares of Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $5,400.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

About Booking

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.