41,681 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Acquired by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 41,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,089,000. Booking accounts for about 6.0% of Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in Booking by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 258 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its position in Booking by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.7% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 23.1% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 16 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.0% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,865.00 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5,053.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4,367.09. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24. The firm has a market cap of $161.03 billion, a PE ratio of 33.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 23.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Booking from $4,657.00 to $4,470.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,997.64.

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.