Seizert Capital Partners LLC Sells 554 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Seizert Capital Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,011 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 554 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $9,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Booking by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 258 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Seascape Capital Management grew its holdings in Booking by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Seascape Capital Management now owns 1,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,242,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Booking by 3.2% during the third quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 96 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 241 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,898.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $160.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $4,891.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,640.74. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BKNG. StockNews.com upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their target price on Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.