Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Truist Financial

Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) in a research report released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $4,100.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on BKNG. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Booking from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Benchmark cut their target price on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $4,064.21.

Booking Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,802.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $127.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.40. Booking has a 12-month low of $2,733.04 and a 12-month high of $4,144.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,772.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,698.81.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $37.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Booking will post 177.03 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 45.2% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 151 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $342,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Booking by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 77 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Booking by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.