Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 222 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 222 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Booking were worth $9,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Booking by 10.4% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 255 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,022,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 11.4% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 166 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP increased its holdings in Booking by 230.2% during the first quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 879 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,189,000 after buying an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in Booking by 43.8% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 92 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BKNG shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,205.00 to $5,155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus cut Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,600.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,749.83.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Booking Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,975.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $164.68 billion, a PE ratio of 33.76, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,079.50 and a 12-month high of $5,069.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,360.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,983.56.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.75%.

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.