Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Raises Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 239 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. Booking makes up approximately 0.6% of Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Booking were worth $1,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Booking by 342,723.5% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 233,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $981,929,000 after buying an additional 233,052 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $207,089,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its position in Booking by 3,940.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $190,926,000 after acquiring an additional 37,477 shares in the last quarter. Harvard Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the third quarter worth $155,427,000. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in Booking by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 51,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $253,762,000 after acquiring an additional 19,391 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,989.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4,903.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $4,551.96. The stock has a market cap of $165.14 billion, a PE ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share 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 159.60%. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 207.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Argus cut Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,120.00 target price (up previously from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

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.