Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd Purchases Shares of 2,000 Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd bought a new stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,937,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Booking by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,321,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,495,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Booking by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,160,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in shares of Booking by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,459,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hickory Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $1,624,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Trading Up 1.3%

BKNG stock opened at $5,262.42 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $4,689.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,862.12. The company has a market capitalization of $171.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $20.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 23.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Booking from $5,750.00 to $4,850.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,500.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank lowered Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,299.29.

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.