Machina Capital S.A.S. Takes $1.13 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 228 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,133,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 6.3% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,928,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Booking by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in Booking during the 3rd quarter valued at about $345,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $166,787,000 after buying an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $76,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on BKNG. StockNews.com raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $5,120.00 target price (up previously from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,673.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,872.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4,649.79. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,337.24. The firm has a market cap of $153.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.