Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 54 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Booking by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $45.87 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $5,216.55. 195,520 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,452. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $4,689.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $4,862.12. The firm has a market cap of $169.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $20.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on BKNG. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JMP Securities upped 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 note on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten investment 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 data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,299.29.

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.