Cozad Asset Management Inc. Purchases 24 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 111 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Booking by 232.5% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Booking by 88.8% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 168 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co raised its stake in Booking by 0.5% during the third quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 3,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,951,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Booking during the third quarter worth $48,290,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. raised its stake in Booking by 44.6% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 94 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 2.0 %

Booking stock opened at $4,471.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4,803.32 and a 200-day moving average of $4,691.22.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted 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 company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. Research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $9.60 dividend. 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. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Baird R W raised Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. B. Riley lifted their price target on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush lifted their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.