Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $5,845.6061.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Booking from $5,600.00 to $4,500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $5,954.00 to $5,456.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho raised shares of Booking from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6,000.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $6,250.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Booking from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $6,150.00 to $5,500.00 in a report on Monday, February 23rd.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,191.15, for a total value of $77,867.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,566,320.05. The trade was a 2.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,292.10, for a total value of $2,871,414.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,063,291.60. This represents a 5.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,749 shares of company stock valued at $12,571,467. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Booking by 7.7% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,914 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,132,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 59.6% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 67.3% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $174,893,000 after purchasing an additional 12,148 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 229.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 412 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 339.0% in the 3rd quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 180 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 3.6%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,062.14 on Friday. Booking has a 52 week low of $3,765.45 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The company has a market capitalization of $128.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4,458.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $4,961.41.

Booking’s stock is scheduled to split before the market opens on Monday, April 6th. The 25-1 split was announced on Wednesday, February 18th. The newly minted shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, April 2nd.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $47.96 by $0.84. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 128.99%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $41.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $10.50 per share. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $9.60. This represents a $42.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.28%.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.