Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,906 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Booking were worth $22,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total transaction of $5,425,698.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 27,646 shares in the company, valued at $148,073,911.22. This represents a 3.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on BKNG shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,567.00 to $4,692.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Booking from $5,360.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,388.37.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG traded up $97.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5,693.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 297,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,100. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.41. The company's 50-day moving average is $5,252.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,953.57. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,180.00 and a 1-year high of $5,717.34.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 143.67% and a net margin of 22.58%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $20.39 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Booking's payout ratio is 23.89%.

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.