Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 382 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,689 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 382 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Booking were worth $27,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,850.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,723.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total transaction 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 approximately $95,318,211.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,461 shares of company stock valued at $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Booking Price Performance

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

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. 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 29.67%.

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.