Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Holdings Increased by Abacus FCF Advisors LLC

Abacus FCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 76.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises approximately 1.7% of Abacus FCF Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $12,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Booking by 600.0% during 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 last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $4,244.68 on Tuesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $139.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $4,748.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,761.84.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. 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 research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. B. Riley increased their price objective on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark upped their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,351.41.

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.