Woodline Partners LP Sells 3,334 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Woodline Partners LP lowered its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 39.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,016 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,334 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Booking were worth $24,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Booking by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cfra upgraded Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $5,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,299.29.

Booking Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ BKNG traded down $9.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $5,332.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 152,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,463. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,379.98. The company has a market capitalization of $173.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $4,824.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $4,897.17.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $20.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.