Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Holdings Boosted by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 368,628 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 58,357 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.11% of Booking worth $1,831,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Booking by 621,874.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,295,423,000 after purchasing an additional 864,406 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 803,125 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,986,244,000 after buying an additional 6,009 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,958,352,000. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 285,064 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,416,318,000 after buying an additional 3,926 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Booking by 51.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 280,629 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,394,283,000 after acquiring an additional 95,308 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Cfra upgraded Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,262.41.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $101.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5,202.80. The stock had a trading volume of 270,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 251,957. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $4,652.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,818.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $20.39 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Booking's previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.