Troy Asset Management Ltd Has $36.87 Million Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Troy Asset Management Ltd lowered its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,424 shares during the period. Booking accounts for 1.2% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $36,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 600.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on BKNG shares. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Citigroup raised their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho upped their price target on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5,120.00 price objective (up previously from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,634.24 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,337.24. The company has a market capitalization of $152.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,779.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4,727.45.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.