Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Position Increased by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 24 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 5,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,537,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,922,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $248,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 49 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BKNG. Cfra upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,120.00 price objective (up previously from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, B. Riley increased their price objective on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Trading Down 2.0 %

BKNG opened at $4,471.51 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $4,803.32 and a 200-day moving average of $4,691.22.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted 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 negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Equities analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $9.60 dividend. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.19%.

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.