Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Holdings Cut by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lowered its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,548 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Booking were worth $121,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock opened at $4,752.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $4,784.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,721.67. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. On average, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho upped their price target on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.