73 Shares in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Acquired by Helium Advisors LLC

Helium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 73 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $364,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,054,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Booking by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,495,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,300 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,459,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Hickory Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $1,624,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of Booking by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 11,221 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $55,751,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra upgraded Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank downgraded Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $5,900.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,299.29.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKNG traded up $36.63 on Wednesday, hitting $5,488.37. 65,813 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 246,791. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,505.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4,856.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4,903.73.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $20.39 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

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.