M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Buys New Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 48 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 342,723.5% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 233,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $981,929,000 after buying an additional 233,052 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,322,600,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $207,089,000. Harvard Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Booking in the third quarter valued at about $155,427,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 106.0% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 71,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $282,590,000 after acquiring an additional 36,710 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 1.3 %

BKNG stock opened at $4,926.80 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5,052.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $4,381.01. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,590.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Booking from $4,500.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten investment 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,997.64.

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.