Rovida Investment Management Ltd Acquires Shares of 1,500 Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Rovida Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,456,000. Booking comprises 2.3% of Rovida Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Booking by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $5,120.00 target price (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Baird R W upgraded shares of Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,709.72 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $4,788.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,713.79. The firm has a market cap of $154.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid 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 0.82%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

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.