Natixis Increases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Natixis lifted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 26.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,804 shares during the quarter. Natixis’ holdings in Booking were worth $67,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock opened at $4,573.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,689.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4,774.73. The stock has a market cap of $150.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush increased 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. JMP Securities dropped their target price on Booking from $6,100.00 to $5,600.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Booking from $5,248.00 to $4,567.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,278.66.

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.