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

Railway Pension Investments Ltd cut its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Booking were worth $50,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 1st quarter worth about $401,371,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,635,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $24,841,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its stake in Booking by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,699,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 32,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $113,827,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock traded down $336.05 on Friday, reaching $3,328.13. 801,623 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 242,833. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3,872.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,689.37. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,733.04 and a 1-year high of $4,144.32. The company has a market cap of $112.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 237.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $37.62 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 178.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BKNG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Barclays cut their price target on Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,039.73.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,157,314.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total value of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.