Grimes & Company Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Grimes & Company Inc. lessened its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 26.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 797,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,350,605,000 after buying an additional 11,211 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 492,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,073,508,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 418,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,763,797,000 after purchasing an additional 13,429 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 4.1% in the 3rd 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 valued at $1,249,311,000 after purchasing an additional 11,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 342,723.5% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 233,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $981,929,000 after purchasing an additional 233,052 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,764.89 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $157.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5,028.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,409.61. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,337.24.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BKNG. Citigroup raised their price objective on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,940.00 to $4,510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $5,400.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,997.64.

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.