Alta Capital Management LLC Sells 2,486 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Alta Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,486 shares during the period. Booking accounts for approximately 3.1% of Alta Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Alta Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $51,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 80.0% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 9 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,946.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $162.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,337.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4,896.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4,631.73.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. Research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 price target for the company. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Booking from $4,580.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently 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.