New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,216 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,010,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Booking by 600.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,752.80 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4,784.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $4,721.67. The stock has a market cap of $155.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BKNG. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.