Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $35.96 Million Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the period. Booking makes up 0.5% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Booking were worth $35,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Fountainhead AM LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC now owns 71 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Booking by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $289,184,000 after buying an additional 1,456 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors raised its position in shares of Booking by 31.3% during the second quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 105 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel bought a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter valued at $232,000. Finally, Midwest Trust Co acquired a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,909,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total value of $5,588,639.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,607 shares in the company, valued at $130,237,930.44. This represents a 4.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,291.98, for a total transaction of $79,379.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,873,729.36. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,197 shares of company stock worth $17,260,963. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $6,150.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Hsbc Global Res raised Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wedbush set a $6,000.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6,121.23.

Booking Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,940.00 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5,311.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $5,412.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.34. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $4,096.23 and a twelve month high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $99.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $95.56 by $3.94. The firm had revenue of $9.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. Booking had a net margin of 19.37% and a negative return on equity of 134.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $83.39 earnings per share. Booking has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.96%.

Booking Company 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.