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

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 234.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,776 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,077 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.08% of Booking worth $128,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Booking by 232.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Booking by 88.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 168 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Booking by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 94 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 358 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,508,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in Booking by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 13,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,083,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $4,591.89 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $150.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4,797.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4,690.53. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24.

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

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $9.60 dividend. This is a boost 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 0.84%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Ten research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.