Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Position Lessened by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. Booking accounts for 3.4% of Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $40,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Garner Asset Management Corp increased its position in Booking by 0.8% during the third quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 258 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Seascape Capital Management raised its position in shares of Booking by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Seascape Capital Management now owns 1,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,242,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 96 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in Booking by 0.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,788,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,917.46 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $161.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $4,887.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,642.68. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Cfra upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

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.