3,202 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Bought by Allianz SE

Allianz SE acquired a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,980,000.

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

Booking Stock Down 2.5 %

BKNG opened at $4,634.24 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4,779.09 and a 200-day moving average of $4,727.45. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,337.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. On average, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,120.00 target price (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.