Allstate Corp Makes New Investment in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 994 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,939,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 600.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,634.24 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $4,779.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $4,727.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G 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.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.