Bridgewater Associates LP Acquires 5,593 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 22.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,593 shares during the period. Booking makes up approximately 0.7% of Bridgewater Associates LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Booking were worth $128,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 342,723.5% during 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 period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth $5,322,600,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 106.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 71,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $282,590,000 after purchasing an additional 36,710 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in Booking by 2,315.8% in the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 36,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $145,755,000 after acquiring an additional 35,270 shares during the period. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the second quarter worth about $125,615,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,800.00 to $5,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Booking from $4,580.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,820.50.

Booking Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,214.72 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $4,528.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $4,063.21. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,079.50 and a 52 week high of $5,237.00. The stock has a market cap of $172.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 23.75%.

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.