Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Acquired by Elgethun Capital Management

Elgethun Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 102 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7 shares during the period. Elgethun Capital Management’s holdings in Booking were worth $507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Booking by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,321,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Booking by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $896,455,000 after acquiring an additional 8,735 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,495,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,160,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $166,787,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,284.02 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,757.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4,760.24. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 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 analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Cfra raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho raised their price target on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. 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 research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,120.00 target price (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,374.90.

Booking Company 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.