Troy Asset Management Ltd Sells 1,424 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Troy Asset Management Ltd decreased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,424 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up approximately 1.2% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $36,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $5,400.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $4,634.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,337.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $4,779.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,727.45.

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 the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

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.