Umpqua Bank Sells 23 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Umpqua Bank lessened its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 23 shares during the quarter. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Booking were worth $368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Booking by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,321,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Booking by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $896,455,000 after buying an additional 8,735 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Booking by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,160,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Booking by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $166,787,000 after buying an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in Booking by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,459,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,617.26 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24. The company has a market cap of $151.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4,789.60 and a 200-day moving average of $4,694.74.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cfra upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $5,400.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5,370.43.

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.