Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 404 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,191.12 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $4,655.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,830.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.44 billion, a PE ratio of 30.00, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $20.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 yield of 0.74%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is presently 23.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,750.00 to $4,850.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Ten research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,262.41.

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.