Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Buys 2,517 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,817 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,517 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Booking were worth $169,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Booking by 600.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,673.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $153.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50-day moving average is $4,872.56 and its 200 day moving average is $4,649.79. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.