Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $5,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cfra upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Booking from $5,580.00 to $5,820.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,388.37.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,487.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $178.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5,028.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4,937.42. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,639.70.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $20.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given 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 yield of 0.70%. Booking’s payout ratio is 23.89%.

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.