JT Stratford LLC Buys New Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

JT Stratford LLC bought a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 48 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $9.93 during trading on Thursday, hitting $5,465.33. 118,402 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,068. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,597.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4,873.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $4,907.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The company 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Erste Group Bank lowered Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra upgraded shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.