Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Has $13.30 Million Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 29.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up about 0.6% of Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $13,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Booking by 232.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in Booking by 88.8% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 168 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co increased its position in Booking by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 3,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,951,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,290,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. increased its position in Booking by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 94 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Trading Down 2.0 %

Booking stock opened at $4,471.51 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $4,803.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,691.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The company 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.