Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $7.13 Million Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System has reduced its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. by 13.4%, now holding shares valued at $7.13 million.
• A number of other institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Booking, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by a remarkable 521,609.7%.
• Booking recently announced a quarterly dividend of $9.60 per share, representing a yield of 0.7%, with an ex-dividend date of September 5th.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 13.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,548 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Booking were worth $7,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Booking by 521,609.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,887,718,000 after buying an additional 2,362,892 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Booking by 1,411.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 112,201 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $516,900,000 after purchasing an additional 104,780 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Booking by 182.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 104,643 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $482,081,000 after purchasing an additional 67,562 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Booking by 18.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 88,754 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $440,967,000 after purchasing an additional 50,605 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKNG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $6,000.00 price objective (up from $5,700.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5,781.04.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,536.31 on Thursday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,291.80 and a one year high of $5,839.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5,573.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5,087.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.43 billion, a PE ratio of 38.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $50.32 by $5.08. Booking had a net margin of 19.23% and a negative return on equity of 134.19%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $41.90 earnings per share. Booking's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,674,935. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Booking

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.