South Dakota Investment Council Cuts Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 502 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Booking by 2,479.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 116,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $414,234,000 after purchasing an additional 112,249 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $3,774,850,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Booking by 139.8% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 65,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $201,166,000 after acquiring an additional 37,994 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Booking by 41.8% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 101,736 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $317,313,000 after acquiring an additional 30,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in Booking by 161.5% in the third quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 39,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $120,937,000 after acquiring an additional 24,219 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 289 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 289 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,517.52 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3,555.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,379.22. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,456.93 and a 52 week high of $3,918.00. The company has a market capitalization of $120.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $24.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Ascendiant Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Booking from $3,700.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,548.00 to $3,435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.