Modern Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Modern Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 104 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 16 shares during the quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rovida Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $7,456,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in Booking by 139.9% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 47,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $238,464,000 after purchasing an additional 27,993 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Booking by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 195 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $973,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,236,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock opened at $4,752.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,784.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,721.67. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24. The firm has a market cap of $155.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.