Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,646 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 234 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Booking were worth $12,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $60.72 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $3,523.72. The company had a trading volume of 52,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 269,562. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,564.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,374.83. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,456.93 and a 12 month high of $3,918.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $24.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 175.86 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.67%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total value of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock valued at $18,815,825. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on BKNG. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Ascendiant Capital Markets increased their price objective on Booking from $3,700.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,723.41.

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.