Employees Retirement System of Texas Purchases New Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 13,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $67,571,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BKNG. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Booking by 600.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,284.02 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. Booking Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $3,180.00 and a one year high of $5,337.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4,757.12 and a 200 day moving average of $4,760.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The firm had revenue of $5.47 billion during 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%. Analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BKNG shares. Cfra raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,850.00 to $5,522.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,575.00 to $5,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,374.90.

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.