Nelson Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Nelson Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7 shares during the period. Booking accounts for about 0.9% of Nelson Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Nelson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $5,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Booking by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 797,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,350,605,000 after buying an additional 11,211 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Booking by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 492,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,073,508,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 3.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 418,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,763,797,000 after acquiring an additional 13,429 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 4.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 296,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,311,000 after acquiring an additional 11,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 342,723.5% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 233,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $981,929,000 after acquiring an additional 233,052 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $5,033.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4,898.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,591.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,180.00 and a twelve month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. Research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.23%.

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.