Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Lowers Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 292 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Booking were worth $18,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Booking from $3,494.00 to $3,497.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Booking from $3,800.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. B. Riley increased their price objective on Booking from $4,400.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Booking from $4,100.00 to $4,150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,056.31.

Booking Stock Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $71.40 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $3,772.39. 98,293 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 248,483. The firm has a market cap of $128.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,733.04 and a 52 week high of $4,144.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,887.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,687.63.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $11.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.55 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 189 shares in the company, valued at $649,640.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total value of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at $15,157,314.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total value of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 999 shares of company stock worth $3,939,187 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Booking Company 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.