State of Michigan Retirement System Has $44.51 Million Stake in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Booking were worth $44,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 621,874.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 864,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,295,423,000 after purchasing an additional 864,406 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Booking by 342,723.5% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 233,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $981,929,000 after purchasing an additional 233,052 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,089,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 3,940.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $190,926,000 after buying an additional 37,477 shares during the period. Finally, Harvard Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $155,427,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BKNG. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Booking in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $5,850.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target 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. Nine investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,370.43.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,946.15 on Tuesday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,337.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $4,896.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,631.73. The firm has a market cap of $162.31 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.82 by $5.73. The business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

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.