USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 236 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 236 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $26,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $5,378.00 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,392.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4,754.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $4,885.53. The company has a market capitalization of $175.00 billion, a PE ratio of 31.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 23.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. BTIG Research upgraded Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5,500.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. B. Riley boosted their price target on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.