Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 221 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9 shares during the period. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its position in Booking by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 179 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $889,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 3,098 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,392,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in Booking by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 5,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,145,000 after buying an additional 1,734 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,673.38 on Monday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $4,872.56 and its 200 day moving average is $4,662.88. The stock has a market cap of $153.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.01, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion for 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup upped their price target on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

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.