Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Acquired by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,106 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Booking were worth $401,617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 2.2% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 2.0% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position in Booking by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $5,400.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,634.24 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,779.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4,733.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $9.60 dividend. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

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.