Ardmore Road Asset Management LP Cuts Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Ardmore Road Asset Management LP decreased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up 2.2% of Ardmore Road Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Ardmore Road Asset Management LP’s holdings in Booking were worth $14,905,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Booking by 621,874.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,295,423,000 after buying an additional 864,406 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 803,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,986,244,000 after acquiring an additional 6,009 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 0.5% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 492,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,073,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $1,958,352,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Booking by 51.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 280,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,394,283,000 after purchasing an additional 95,308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,685.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $153.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $4,772.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,750.56. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,337.24.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is 22.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Cfra raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

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.