16 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Acquired by Atala Financial Inc

Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $79,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Booking by 600.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $4,465.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $146.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $4,816.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,671.52. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BKNG. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 price target on the stock. Nine 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.