Vest Financial LLC Has $41.60 Million Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 3,057.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,029 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,743 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Booking were worth $41,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Realta Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $520,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Booking by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $258,000. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its stake in Booking by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,474,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark increased their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JMP Securities increased their price target on 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $5,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,377.33.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $44.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5,614.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 174,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,954. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4,990.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4,933.48. The company has a market capitalization of $182.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.41. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,639.70.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.