California State Teachers Retirement System Has $38.26 Billion Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System dramatically increased its Booking Holdings stake during the second quarter, acquiring 214.6 million shares and bringing its holdings to 214.65 million shares valued at approximately $38.26 billion, or 28.57% of the company.
• Booking reported quarterly earnings of $2.54 per share and revenue of $7.35 billion, beating estimates, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $236.70.
• Insiders sold 81,550 shares worth $16.9 million over the past 90 days, while Booking announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 0.9%.

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 419,256.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 214,651,580 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 214,600,394 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 28.57% of Booking worth $38,259,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Greenland Capital Management LP bought a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $379,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Booking by 2,273.3% during the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 178,758 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,862,000 after acquiring an additional 171,226 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 4,426.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,522 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $984,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 2,577.9% during the 2nd quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 1,821 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kintra Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $182,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. This represents a 6.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total value of $610,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 73,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,935,432. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 81,550 shares of company stock valued at $16,922,744. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $215.00 price target on Booking and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $188.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities started coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.70.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock opened at $193.29 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $145.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.07. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.14 and a 12-month high of $226.10. The business's 50-day moving average price is $194.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.60.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. Booking had a net margin of 25.53% and a negative return on equity of 102.96%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $55.40 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Booking's payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company's businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.

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