Harvard Management Co. Inc. Has $98.38 Million Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Harvard Management Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 46.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 17,100 shares during the quarter. Booking makes up about 5.8% of Harvard Management Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Harvard Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $98,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Booking by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,831,499,000 after acquiring an additional 58,357 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Booking by 3,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 140 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Booking during the fourth quarter worth $224,000. DE Burlo Group Inc. boosted its stake in Booking by 166.7% during the fourth quarter. DE Burlo Group Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,886,000 after buying an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Booking by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 696 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,459,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays upped their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,263.28.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,889.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $159.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $4,648.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,804.01. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. Equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.