Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Boosts Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 39.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,566 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in Booking were worth $12,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark increased their price objective 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. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,299.29.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of Booking stock traded down $79.17 on Friday, hitting $5,086.10. 228,424 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 249,144. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,668.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4,841.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $20.39 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.89%.

About Booking

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.