Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $9.84 Million Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Booking were worth $9,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 514,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,865,949,000 after purchasing an additional 21,969 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in Booking by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 358,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,421,069,000 after acquiring an additional 10,889 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter worth about $5,322,600,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 106,245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $420,865,000 after acquiring an additional 13,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 105,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $416,659,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,975.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $164.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4,360.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,983.56. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,079.50 and a 1 year high of $5,069.44.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Booking’s payout ratio is 23.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on BKNG. Argus lowered shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Booking from $4,500.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Booking from $5,050.00 to $5,550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,749.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

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.