1248 Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 256 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,272,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,321,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Booking by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $896,455,000 after acquiring an additional 8,735 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,495,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Booking by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,160,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $166,787,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock traded down $11.68 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $5,191.12. The company had a trading volume of 192,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,588. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,337.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4,652.67 and a 200 day moving average of $4,824.98.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $20.39 EPS. Booking's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. This is a boost from Booking's previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking's payout ratio is presently 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Benchmark raised their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Cfra raised Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,262.41.

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.