Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Trims Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lowered its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 25.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,742 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned about 0.06% of Booking worth $83,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Booking by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 30,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $128,647,000 after purchasing an additional 5,593 shares in the last quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Booking by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,453,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its stake in shares of Booking by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 722 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,041,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock opened at $5,214.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $172.61 billion, a PE ratio of 35.39, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4,528.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $4,063.21. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,079.50 and a one year high of $5,237.00.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 23.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BKNG. B. Riley lifted their price target on Booking from $4,650.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,448.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,820.50.

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.