Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,782 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Booking were worth $48,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its stake in Booking by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position 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 grew its stake in shares of Booking by 7.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 4.9% in 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 in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,634.24 on Monday. 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 capitalization of $152.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4,779.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,740.07.

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. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. On average, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

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.