Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Sells 5 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 328 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up approximately 1.1% of Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 621,874.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth $1,958,352,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Booking by 51.4% during the fourth 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 during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $207,089,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,284.02 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,757.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4,755.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush raised their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BTIG Research upgraded Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,500.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Ten 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,374.90.

Booking 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.