Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Has $2.96 Million Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 595 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $4,295,423,000 after purchasing an additional 864,406 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 342,723.5% during the 3rd 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. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,089,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 3,940.8% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $190,926,000 after purchasing an additional 37,477 shares during the period. Finally, Harvard Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at $155,427,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,898.40 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,891.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4,640.74. The firm has a market cap of $160.74 billion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,120.00 price target (up previously from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 21st. Baird R W upgraded Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Company Profile

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.