Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their hold rating on shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a hold rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Booking from $3,800.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $3,823.00.

Booking Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,577.38 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3,524.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,406.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40. Booking has a 52 week low of $2,456.93 and a 52 week high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Booking will post 176.46 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total value of $78,827.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total value of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,483 shares of company stock worth $18,891,445. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,742,160,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Booking by 2,479.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 116,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $414,234,000 after purchasing an additional 112,249 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Booking in the first quarter valued at approximately $401,371,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth $3,774,850,000. Finally, BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $220,080,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.