Prudential Financial Inc. Buys 27,993 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 139.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,993 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $238,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Booking by 600.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BKNG. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. B. Riley increased their price target on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Baird R W upgraded Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $5,400.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5,120.00 target price (up previously from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,617.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.52 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $4,789.60 and its 200-day moving average is $4,707.25. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Booking’s payout ratio is 22.19%.

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.