Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stock Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 451,668 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 130,091 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Booking were worth $73,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter worth approximately $345,000. Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co bought a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter valued at $400,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 1st quarter valued at $505,000. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS acquired a new position in Booking in the first quarter worth $509,000. Finally, Kesler Norman & Wride LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the first quarter worth $518,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. This represents a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 77,425 shares of company stock valued at $16,004,164 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG stock opened at $163.49 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $165.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.92. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.28 and a fifty-two week high of $220.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.17.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $4.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.55 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 89.54% and a net margin of 25.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $99.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 18.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on BKNG. Benchmark increased their target price on Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Booking from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.35.

Booking Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is an online travel company that connects travelers with accommodations and other travel services. Through its digital platforms, customers can search for and book hotels, vacation rentals, flights, rental cars, attractions and other travel experiences.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable. Its services span accommodation reservations, travel search and comparison, car rentals, and restaurant reservations.

Booking Holdings traces its history to Priceline, which was founded in 1997.