Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 236 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $26,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Realta Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $520,000. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $229,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 145 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 120.2% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 23 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,378.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $175.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,392.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4,754.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4,885.53.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Booking from $4,567.00 to $4,692.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten equities research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,299.29.

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.