Whittier Trust Co. Has $3 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 604 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 621,874.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,295,423,000 after acquiring an additional 864,406 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 797,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,350,605,000 after buying an additional 11,211 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 492,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,073,508,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Booking by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 418,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,763,797,000 after buying an additional 13,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Booking by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 296,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,311,000 after acquiring an additional 11,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,617.26 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $4,789.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4,694.74. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24. The company has a market capitalization of $151.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced 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 negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BKNG. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

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.