130,091 Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Key Points

• Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its Booking Holdings stake by 22.4% in the third quarter, selling 130,091 shares; it retained 451,668 shares valued at about $73.6 million.
• Booking beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $4.66 versus $4.49 forecast and revenue of $9.79 billion versus $9.55 billion expected. Revenue was down 1.2% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $222.35. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 451,668 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 130,091 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.06% of Booking worth $73,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its stake in Booking by 34.6% in the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 315 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Booking in the third quarter worth approximately $342,000. Accuvest Global Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth $499,000. StoneRidge PMG Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth $577,000. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 378.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,117 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,603,000 after purchasing an additional 17,494 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $163.49 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $165.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.17. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.28 and a 1 year high of $220.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.17. Booking had a net margin of 25.52% and a negative return on equity of 89.54%. The business had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $99.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.12%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $79,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,133 shares in the company, valued at $3,404,063. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter Millones, Jr. sold 50,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 375,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,425 shares of company stock valued at $16,004,164. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKNG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $188.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $274.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Booking from $220.00 to $205.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reduced their price target on Booking from $274.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.35.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is an online travel company that connects travelers with accommodations and other travel services. Through its digital platforms, customers can search for and book hotels, vacation rentals, flights, rental cars, attractions and other travel experiences.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable. Its services span accommodation reservations, travel search and comparison, car rentals, and restaurant reservations.

Booking Holdings traces its history to Priceline, which was founded in 1997.

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