Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 43 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 390 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 43 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises 0.6% of Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Booking by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $876,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter worth about $666,000. Fiduciary Trust Co raised its stake in Booking by 16.6% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 1,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,244,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 83 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Infusive Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 75.9% during the 3rd quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,196 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,038,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,634.24 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $4,779.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $4,727.45. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,337.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. Analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Company 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.