Argus Downgrades Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) to Hold

Argus downgraded shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $4,600.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Booking from $3,900.00 to $5,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wedbush upped their price objective on Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Booking from $4,448.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,590.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, October 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,680.18.

Booking Stock Up 1.6 %

BKNG stock opened at $4,749.11 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $157.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.38. Booking has a twelve month low of $2,756.39 and a twelve month high of $4,856.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4,136.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,883.88.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $83.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $77.94 by $5.95. Booking had a net margin of 21.85% and a negative return on equity of 166.06%. The company had revenue of $7.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.63 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking will post 177.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 23.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Booking during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the third quarter worth about $29,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently 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.