Virtue Capital Management LLC Has $527,000 Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Virtue Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 44.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKNG. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Booking by 600.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,332.80 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,379.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4,839.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,899.90.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $5,750.00 to $4,850.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,299.29.

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.