Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd grew its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,513 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $12,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,634.24 on Monday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $4,779.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4,740.07.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

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.