Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Stock Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 70,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,097 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Booking were worth $11,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Booking by 1,615.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 13,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after buying an additional 13,119 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $11,687,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,860.8% during the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 12,130 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,549.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 88,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,077,000 after acquiring an additional 85,592 shares during the period. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 61,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,068,000 after acquiring an additional 21,496 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BKNG shares. B. Riley Financial decreased their target price on shares of Booking from $274.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $179.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.35.

Booking Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $160.21 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $164.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.46. The company has a market capitalization of $119.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.17. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.28 and a 12-month high of $220.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.17. Booking had a net margin of 25.52% and a negative return on equity of 89.54%. The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $99.50 EPS. Booking’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.12%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.06, for a total value of $244,590.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 70,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,479,424. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $79,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,404,063. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 57,425 shares of company stock valued at $11,783,564 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.