Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-one have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $4,068.32.

BKNG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. HSBC boosted their target price on Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 41.2% during the 2nd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC raised its position in Booking by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,369,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in Booking by 178.6% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 691 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,738,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 1,723 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,826,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 5.2% in the second quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 44,302 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $175,502,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

Booking stock traded up $48.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $3,443.05. 251,858 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 261,554. The company’s 50-day moving average is $3,833.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,684.51. The firm has a market cap of $116.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.82, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.38. Booking has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a negative return on equity of 237.46% and a net margin of 22.46%. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $37.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Booking will post 178.9 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 26.25%.

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.