Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Acquired by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Booking were worth $34,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,954,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,718,390,000 after buying an additional 12,456 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 514,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,865,949,000 after purchasing an additional 21,969 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Booking by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 376,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,336,085,000 after buying an additional 15,303 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in Booking by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 358,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,421,069,000 after buying an additional 10,889 shares during the period. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 193,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $702,049,000 after acquiring an additional 43,743 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,212.12 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,733.04 and a 12 month high of $4,272.88. The business’s 50-day moving average is $3,795.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,758.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.91 billion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $37.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,590.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,900.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.