Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Booking Holdings Inc. $BKNG

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 3,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,578,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $361,463,000. Rit Capital Partners PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,396,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Booking by 862.0% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,890,000 after acquiring an additional 195,411 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 56,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $300,364,000 after acquiring an additional 15,053 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC boosted its position in Booking by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 64,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $347,604,000 after purchasing an additional 11,042 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BTIG initiated a Buy rating on Booking Holdings, reinforcing the view that the travel platform still has attractive long-term fundamentals and can benefit from resilient demand and strong cash generation. Booking Holdings (BKNG) Gets a Buy from BTIG
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish commentary pieces argued that the recent selloff in BKNG may be an opportunity, not a warning, with analysts pointing to robust cash flow, strong margins, and fair-to-attractive valuation around the low-20s earnings multiple. Booking Holdings: Selloff May Be More Of An Opportunity Than Warning
• Positive Sentiment: Booking shares previously surged after crude oil prices fell below $70, which investors viewed as a tailwind for travel demand because lower fuel costs can support more bookings and cheaper trips. Booking (BKNG) Shares Skyrocket, What You Need To Know
• Neutral Sentiment: One article compared Booking with RideNow Group, but it did not appear to introduce a new catalyst for BKNG. RideNow Group (NASDAQ:RDNW) versus Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Critical Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Despite bullish takes, BKNG also drew a headline questioning whether AI could disintermediate online travel agencies, which may have contributed to investor caution even though the article argued the threat is overstated. Booking Holdings: The AI Disintermediation Threat Is Overstated

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on Booking from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $188.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler set a $195.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Gordon Haskett raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.14.

Booking Stock Down 2.3%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $177.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $137.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.08. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $233.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.74.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Peter J. Millones sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.67, for a total transaction of $10,229,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 425,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,572,025.25. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total value of $3,100,331.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,269,532.64. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 80,351 shares of company stock worth $13,545,706 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Booking Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.