Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Sells 5,024 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,977 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,024 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $263,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 621,874.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 864,406 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,958,352,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 95,308 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,089,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Booking by 3,940.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $190,926,000 after purchasing an additional 37,477 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,284.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $140.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $4,757.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $4,755.12. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. On average, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BKNG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Ten 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,374.90.

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.