TIAA Trust National Association Sells 21 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

TIAA Trust National Association cut its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 21 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Booking were worth $5,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 2.2% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Booking by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Booking by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho upped 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 note on Thursday, December 19th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 price target for the company. Eleven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $4,764.16 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $4,787.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,721.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion during 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio 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.