Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 177 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 177 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Booking were worth $8,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $4,295,423,000 after purchasing an additional 864,406 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 342,723.5% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 233,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $981,929,000 after buying an additional 233,052 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $207,089,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Booking by 3,940.8% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $190,926,000 after acquiring an additional 37,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvard Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Booking during the 3rd quarter worth about $155,427,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,471.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,803.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,691.22. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Booking from $4,600.00 to $5,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,120.00 price objective (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $5,400.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,370.43.

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.