Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 94,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Booking were worth $470,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,400.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4,838.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4,669.48. 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 posted 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. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Baird R W raised Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking 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.