SVB Wealth LLC Purchases New Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 592 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,942,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 27.3% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,025,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Booking by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 478 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,015,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 3rd quarter worth $315,000. VELA Investment Management LLC raised its position in Booking by 55.6% during the third quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 336 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 3.5% during the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,016.01 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24. The firm has a market cap of $164.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $4,898.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4,615.15.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

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.