Allianz SE Invests $15.98 Million in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Allianz SE bought a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,980,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 2.0% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position in Booking by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Booking by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BKNG. B. Riley lifted their price target on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,634.24 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4,779.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $4,727.45. The company has a market capitalization of $152.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.19%.

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.