Cibc World Markets Corp Raises Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Cibc World Markets Corp grew its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Booking were worth $29,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Booking by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $65,743,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter worth about $214,000. Claro Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 81.1% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 163 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. bought a new stake in Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in Booking by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 12,977 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,465.48 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $4,816.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $4,682.53.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.19%.

Booking 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.