California Public Employees Retirement System Purchases 18,038 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 28.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,038 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Booking were worth $343,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,271,041,000. HF Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 28,353.8% during the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 204,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,083,000 after acquiring an additional 203,580 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its holdings in Booking by 862.0% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,890,000 after acquiring an additional 195,411 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Booking by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 966,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,173,899,000 after acquiring an additional 128,700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock opened at $181.68 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.14 and a fifty-two week high of $231.80. The stock has a market cap of $140.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.90, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $169.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.23.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Booking had a negative return on equity of 117.14% and a net margin of 22.23%.The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. The trade was a 12.82% 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. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Gordon Haskett raised their price target on Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $214.00 price objective on Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $244.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.29.

Booking News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush initiated coverage on Booking Holdings with an “outperform” rating and a $211 price target, implying meaningful upside from current levels and suggesting Wall Street still sees room for the stock to recover. Wedbush initiates coverage on Booking
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate for Booking to $10.39 from $10.42, a small reduction but still close to the consensus estimate of $10.43, so the change was not a major earnings shock.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent articles noted that Booking fell more than the broader market, indicating traders were selling the stock alongside a weaker tape and possibly taking profits after its strong run. Why Booking Holdings fell more than broader market

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.