Magellan Asset Management Ltd Trims Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd trimmed its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 37.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,474 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,578 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $61,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,689.30 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,337.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4,774.08 and a 200 day moving average of $4,750.13. The stock has a market cap of $153.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $9.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking 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.