Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,689 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 382 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Booking were worth $27,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its position in shares of Booking by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 129 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Booking by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 764 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,710,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Booking by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Booking by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 69 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Booking by 0.7% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 601 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,854,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total value of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 211 shares in the company, valued at $756,027.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,318,211.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $756,027.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $3,521.08 on Monday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,456.93 and a fifty-two week high of $3,918.00. The company has a market capitalization of $119.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,547.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,388.10.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. The business had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $24.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.1 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 29.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on BKNG. StockNews.com raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. B. Riley began coverage on Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4,400.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,850.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,723.41.

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.