Aristides Capital LLC Buys 60 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Aristides Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 540 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Booking makes up about 0.5% of Aristides Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Booking by 600.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,284.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $4,757.12 and its 200-day moving average is $4,755.12. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. Equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. BTIG Research raised Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,500.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,374.90.

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.