Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Cuts Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,063 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18 shares during the period. Booking accounts for 1.0% of Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $15,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,589.03 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24. The company has a market capitalization of $150.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,792.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,689.82.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results 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. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $9.60 dividend. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. B. Riley raised their price target on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.