Xponance Inc. Grows Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $39,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock opened at $4,563.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,809.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4,687.26.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on BKNG. Cfra upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wedbush raised 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. Benchmark raised their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

About Booking

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.