California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 2,608 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

California State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,513 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,608 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.16% of Booking worth $265,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 621,874.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,295,423,000 after acquiring an additional 864,406 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Booking by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 803,125 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,986,244,000 after purchasing an additional 6,009 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,958,352,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 368,628 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,831,499,000 after purchasing an additional 58,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 285,064 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,416,318,000 after buying an additional 3,926 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $101.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $5,202.80. 270,934 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 251,957. The stock has a market cap of $169.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4,652.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4,818.49. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $20.39 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. This is an increase from Booking's previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $5,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5,262.41.

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.