Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Holdings Lifted by Congress Wealth Management LLC DE

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 195 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Booking were worth $973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Booking by 600.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG opened at $4,752.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $155.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4,784.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,721.67. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.