Balboa Wealth Partners Has $328,000 Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Balboa Wealth Partners grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6 shares during the quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners’ holdings in Booking were worth $328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sigma Planning Corp increased its holdings in Booking by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Booking during the third quarter worth $250,000. First Heartland Consultants Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America increased 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 note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price target on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Trading Down 2.4 %

BKNG stock opened at $4,295.40 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $4,825.51 and its 200 day moving average is $4,666.88. The stock has a market cap of $140.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly 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 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 analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

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.