Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV

Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV cut its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10 shares during the period. Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV’s holdings in Booking were worth $231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock opened at $5,101.43 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,337.24. The stock has a market cap of $166.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,649.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4,812.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $20.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities upped their target price on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark boosted their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Ten 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,262.41.

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.