O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,857 shares during the period. Booking accounts for approximately 0.7% of O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $86,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Booking by 600.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,634.24 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $4,779.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4,733.69. The stock has a market cap 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 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 business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Booking’s dividend 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.