Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury decreased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,301 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 582 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Booking were worth $66,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG traded up $10.47 on Friday, reaching $4,838.44. 189,552 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 249,765. The company's 50-day moving average price is $4,658.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $4,788.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.77 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Booking's previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Wedbush increased their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Booking from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Booking from $5,750.00 to $4,850.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,278.66.

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.