Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,731 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18,170 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $575,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $5,202.80 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $4,652.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $4,821.83. The stock has a market cap of $169.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $9.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark lifted their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,262.41.

About Booking

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.