Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Makes New $38.03 Million Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,654 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $38,028,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. raised its position in Booking by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. now owns 70 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Wesleyan Assurance Society grew its stake in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society now owns 4,360 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,673,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 192.1% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 7,469 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $37,109,000 after buying an additional 4,912 shares in the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $829,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $348,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $9.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $5,332.80. 152,419 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,081. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,379.98. The stock 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 business's fifty day moving average is $4,824.51 and its 200-day moving average is $4,898.05.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $20.39 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.72%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BKNG. Wall Street Zen upgraded Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,567.00 to $4,692.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cfra upgraded Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,299.29.

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.