Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Position Cut by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 31 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Booking were worth $11,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,321,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its position in shares of Booking by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 931 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,921,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Booking by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $896,455,000 after purchasing an additional 8,735 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,160,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $166,787,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $5,018.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4,908.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,540.81. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. Booking had a net margin of 21.85% and a negative return on equity of 166.06%. Analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 181.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on BKNG. Tigress Financial raised their target price 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. Argus cut shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,044.43.

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.