Polymer Capital Management HK LTD Grows Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Polymer Capital Management HK LTD grew its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 700.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 480 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Booking by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,284.02 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4,757.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $4,755.12. The firm has a market cap of $140.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,374.90.

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.