Blueshift Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 80.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 126 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 518 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $4,295,423,000 after purchasing an additional 864,406 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 797,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,350,605,000 after purchasing an additional 11,211 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Booking by 0.5% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 492,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,073,508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 3.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 418,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,763,797,000 after purchasing an additional 13,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 4.1% in the third 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 worth $1,249,311,000 after purchasing an additional 11,649 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,589.03 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,337.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4,792.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4,689.82.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. 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 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. StockNews.com downgraded Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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 company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, B. Riley raised their price target on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.