StockNews.com Lowers Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

BKNG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and set a $3,850.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Benchmark restated a hold rating on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Booking from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a buy rating and a $4,400.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,494.00 to $3,497.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $3,980.15.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,026.43 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3,849.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,656.19. The company has a market cap of $136.62 billion, a PE ratio of 30.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. Booking has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,051.68.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. The business’s revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $11.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Booking will post 178.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 189 shares in the company, valued at $649,640.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total transaction of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at $95,318,211.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,021 shares of company stock worth $3,617,852. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

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.