Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Bought by New Mexico Educational Retirement Board

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 20.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Booking were worth $8,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 764 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,710,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 129 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 69 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 164 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $47.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3,961.50. 321,265 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 196,108. Booking Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,624.50 and a twelve month high of $4,040.00. The company has a market cap of $134.41 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,759.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,625.18.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $11.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 26.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Argus increased their price objective on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Booking from $3,950.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,850.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,902.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,318,211.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total value of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,318,211.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,021 shares of company stock valued at $3,617,852 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Booking

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.