Wedgewood Partners Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Wedgewood Partners Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,816 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 271 shares during the period. Booking accounts for 5.7% of Wedgewood Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Wedgewood Partners Inc.'s holdings in Booking were worth $28,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Realta Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $520,000. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $229,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Booking by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 145 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,970,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 874 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,346,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock traded down $9.11 on Friday, hitting $5,332.80. 152,419 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,081. The firm has a market cap of $173.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,379.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,824.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,898.05.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cfra raised shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. BTIG Research raised shares of Booking from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5,500.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,750.00 to $4,850.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,299.29.

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.