Haverford Trust Co Sells 3 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Haverford Trust Co trimmed its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Booking were worth $904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 2.2% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position in Booking by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,120.00 price target (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush boosted their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,709.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4,788.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,713.79. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,337.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The business 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%. On average, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.19%.

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.