Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Sells 200 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 580 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $2,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 621,874.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,295,423,000 after purchasing an additional 864,406 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $207,089,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Booking by 3,940.8% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $190,926,000 after buying an additional 37,477 shares in the last quarter. Harvard Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Booking during the 3rd quarter worth about $155,427,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in Booking by 139.9% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 47,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $238,464,000 after acquiring an additional 27,993 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Up 2.0 %

BKNG stock opened at $4,709.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $154.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4,788.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4,713.79. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Morgan Stanley increased 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 note on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Booking in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 price objective on the stock. 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.