Retirement Systems of Alabama Purchases 1,580 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,484 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.06% of Booking worth $85,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 521,609.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,363,345 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,887,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,362,892 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position 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 worth $4,295,423,000 after buying an additional 864,406 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Booking by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 803,125 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,986,244,000 after buying an additional 6,009 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $1,958,352,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position 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 buying an additional 58,357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded up $17.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5,304.03. 441,919 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,618. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.41. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $5,180.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4,947.25. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,639.70.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Booking's dividend payout ratio is 23.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on BKNG. DA Davidson upped their target price on Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Booking from $4,567.00 to $4,692.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,580.00 to $5,820.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Ten equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,388.37.

Booking 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.