Stokes Family Office LLC Acquires Shares of 44 Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Stokes Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 44 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Garner Asset Management Corp increased its position in Booking by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 258 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its position in shares of 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. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 241 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of Booking by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 662 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,788,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,591.89 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,797.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4,690.53. The firm has a market cap of $150.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. 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 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Cfra upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Company 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.