PGGM Investments Sells 1,489 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

PGGM Investments lessened its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,489 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Booking were worth $46,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Booking by 600.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,580.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,400.52 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $4,838.11 and its 200-day moving average is $4,669.48. The company has a market capitalization of $144.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. 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. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.