Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 618 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,990 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 618 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $74,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Balboa Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in Booking during the third quarter valued at about $253,000. KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,555,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Booking by 464.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,213,000 after buying an additional 12,155 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Wealth Management LLC now owns 301 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Adero Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth $214,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,465.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $146.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4,816.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4,677.04.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

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.