Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stake Cut by Metropolis Capital Ltd

Metropolis Capital Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,402 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,121 shares during the period. Booking makes up about 6.0% of Metropolis Capital Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Metropolis Capital Ltd owned about 0.10% of Booking worth $170,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LexAurum Advisors LLC increased its stake in Booking by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 53 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,605,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 11,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $59,456,000 after buying an additional 1,983 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust raised its stake in Booking by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,550,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 4.3 %

BKNG stock opened at $4,818.14 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $5,035.32 and its 200 day moving average is $4,398.27. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,337.24. The stock has a market cap of $159.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 23.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BKNG. Barclays boosted their price target on Booking from $4,500.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Booking from $3,940.00 to $4,510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Argus lowered shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,590.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,997.64.

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.