Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Booking makes up about 0.7% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Booking were worth $17,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 621,874.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,295,423,000 after buying an additional 864,406 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 797,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,350,605,000 after acquiring an additional 11,211 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Booking by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 492,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,073,508,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 418,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,763,797,000 after buying an additional 13,429 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 296,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,249,311,000 after acquiring an additional 11,649 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,709.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. 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 50-day moving average price of $4,788.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,713.79.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. On average, research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $5,400.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Cfra upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.