Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Receives $3,902.54 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $3,902.54.

BKNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Seaport Res Ptn restated a “buy” rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays reduced their price target on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $4,205.00 price objective (up previously from $4,150.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $3,973.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $3,682.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,586.00. Booking has a 52 week low of $2,605.00 and a 52 week high of $3,989.12.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $11.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Booking will post 178.54 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at $95,318,211.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at $95,318,211.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,157,314.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,021 shares of company stock worth $3,617,852. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Booking by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 764 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its holdings in Booking by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 129 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Booking by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Booking by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 69 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in shares of Booking by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 164 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Company Profile

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.