Hollencrest Capital Management Boosts Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management’s holdings in Booking were worth $979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Booking by 600.0% in the fourth 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. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective 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. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,353.41 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $4,849.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,671.37.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted 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. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.19%.

Booking Company 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.