EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 135 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. B. Riley boosted their target price on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $5,400.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $4,295.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $140.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4,825.51 and a 200 day moving average of $4,666.88.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. 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.