Inceptionr LLC Buys Shares of 352 Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 352 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,749,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 595 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,958,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 380.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,975,000 after buying an additional 3,980 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Booking by 258.8% during the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 61 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 price target for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,917.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $4,887.85 and its 200-day moving average is $4,642.68.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

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

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.