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

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-one analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven 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 company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $3,980.15.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $3,950.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $4,205.00 target price (up from $4,150.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4,700.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was 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 $649,640.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the 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 value of $812,830.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the sale, 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. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,088.00 on Thursday. Booking has a 52 week low of $2,733.04 and a 52 week high of $4,100.00. The firm has a market cap of $138.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $3,859.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,661.46.

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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $11.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Booking will post 178.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

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.