Martin Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Martin Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 480 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up 3.2% of Martin Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Martin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $11,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 5.6% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,096 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,618,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 43.6% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Booking by 5.2% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 161 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its position in Booking by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 316 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Booking by 0.5% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,685.75 on Wednesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4,772.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4,750.56. The company has a market cap of $153.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.08, a PEG 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. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush upped their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Booking from $4,470.00 to $5,248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking 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.