First Foundation Advisors Grows Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

First Foundation Advisors raised its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 955 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Booking were worth $4,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Down 2.4 %

Booking stock opened at $4,503.99 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4,721.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4,760.98. The stock has a market cap of $147.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. On average, analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on BKNG. Erste Group Bank downgraded Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,327.28.

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.