NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Grows Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 45.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 191 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective 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. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group cut their target price on Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,388.37.

Booking Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of BKNG stock traded down $163.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $5,298.38. 261,976 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 247,722. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5,098.72 and a 200 day moving average of $4,942.15. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,639.70. The company has a market cap of $172.41 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. The firm 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%. Booking's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $20.39 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 payout ratio is 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.