Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Cuts Stock Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 993 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 101 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Booking in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Booking by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the third quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna raised their price target on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,400.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,560.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,749.83.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,975.19 on Friday. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,079.50 and a fifty-two week high of $5,069.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.68 billion, a PE ratio of 33.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4,360.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,983.56.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.