California State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

California State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Get Rating) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,161 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,449 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Booking were worth $112,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD bought a new position in Booking in the third quarter worth approximately $452,154,000. Public Investment Fund bought a new position in Booking in the second quarter worth approximately $373,371,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Booking by 3,557.5% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 142,166 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,870,000 after buying an additional 138,279 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the third quarter worth $146,280,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 6,440.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 83,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $136,386,000 after acquiring an additional 81,731 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $2,415.73 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,616.85 and a 52 week high of $2,630.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $2,421.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2,074.22.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 23rd. The business services provider reported $24.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $20.97 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.90 billion. Booking had a net margin of 17.89% and a return on equity of 107.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $15.83 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 127.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BKNG. TheStreet raised shares of Booking from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, December 12th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $2,750.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Booking from $2,170.00 to $2,670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Booking from $2,550.00 to $2,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Booking from $2,550.00 to $2,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,675.16.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,400 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,320.41, for a total transaction of $3,248,574.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,643,239.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO David I. Goulden sold 550 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,297.91, for a total transaction of $1,263,850.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,418,314.79. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,400 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,320.41, for a total transaction of $3,248,574.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,804 shares in the company, valued at $101,643,239.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,085 shares of company stock valued at $4,824,315. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Booking Profile

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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.