Railway Pension Investments Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 513.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,800 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $38,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 15 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Booking by 433.3% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 16 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Booking by 750.0% during the first quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 17 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG traded up $6.00 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $3,163.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 28,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,419. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.16, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $3,002.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $2,897.61. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,899.31 and a 52-week high of $3,251.71. The company has a market capitalization of $110.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.36.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 2nd. The business services provider reported $72.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $67.85 by $4.47. Booking had a net margin of 25.70% and a return on equity of 840.22%. The firm had revenue of $7.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $53.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 147.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TheStreet raised Booking from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Booking from $2,373.00 to $2,402.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,325.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Booking from $3,350.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $3,400.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,346.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CAO Susana D’emic sold 1,989 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,039.28, for a total transaction of $6,045,127.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,278 shares in the company, valued at $19,080,599.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO David I. Goulden sold 550 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.75, for a total transaction of $1,760,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,142,440.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Susana D’emic sold 1,989 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,039.28, for a total transaction of $6,045,127.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,278 shares in the company, valued at $19,080,599.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,989 shares of company stock worth $15,303,166. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.