Trillium Asset Management LLC Invests $2.69 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Trillium Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 542 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,693,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Garner Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Booking by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 258 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 2.2% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Booking by 1.3% during the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 241 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in Booking by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in Booking by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,788,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,591.89 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4,797.71 and a 200-day moving average of $4,690.53. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24. The company has a market capitalization of $150.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued 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. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 22.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cfra raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $5,400.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

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.