Point72 Hong Kong Ltd Makes New $17.40 Million Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,503 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,404,000. Booking makes up about 1.1% of Point72 Hong Kong Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,321,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,495,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,160,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in shares of Booking by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,300 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,459,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Hickory Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $1,624,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. B. Riley boosted their price target on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JMP Securities boosted 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 reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $5,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,299.29.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $79.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5,317.07. The company had a trading volume of 199,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,513. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4,735.30 and a 200 day moving average of $4,879.71. The firm has a market cap of $173.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $20.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Booking's payout ratio is presently 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.