Montecito Bank & Trust Acquires 40 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Montecito Bank & Trust grew its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 312 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Booking during the third quarter worth $25,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in Booking by 80.0% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 9 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 66.7% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 10 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $4,818.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5,035.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,398.27. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BKNG. UBS Group increased their target price on Booking from $5,050.00 to $5,550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,997.64.

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.