Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 604 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 621,874.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,295,423,000 after purchasing an additional 864,406 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 797,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,350,605,000 after buying an additional 11,211 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Booking by 0.5% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 492,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,073,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 418,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,763,797,000 after acquiring an additional 13,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 296,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,311,000 after acquiring an additional 11,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,617.26 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4,789.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4,694.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 0.83%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cfra upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.