Huntington National Bank Sells 460 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Huntington National Bank lessened its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,310 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 460 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Booking were worth $41,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 600.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,685.75 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,337.24. The company has a market capitalization of $153.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.08, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $4,772.68 and a 200-day moving average of $4,750.56.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The company 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on BKNG. UBS Group boosted their target price on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

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.