Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 28 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Booking were worth $14,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 80.0% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 9 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Trading Down 0.3 %

Booking stock opened at $5,033.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $165.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4,898.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,591.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BKNG shares. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,005.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised their price target 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. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,580.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 target price on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,370.43.

Booking Company 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.