Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Purchased by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 234.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,776 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,077 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Booking were worth $128,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Booking by 621,874.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,295,423,000 after acquiring an additional 864,406 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Booking by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 797,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,350,605,000 after acquiring an additional 11,211 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Booking by 0.5% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 492,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,073,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,321 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Booking by 3.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 418,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,763,797,000 after acquiring an additional 13,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Booking by 4.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 296,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,249,311,000 after acquiring an additional 11,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 2.7 %

BKNG opened at $4,591.89 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,337.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4,797.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4,690.53. The company has a market cap of $150.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $5,400.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,120.00 price objective (up previously from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

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.