Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

BKNG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. 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. JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and issued a $3,950.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $3,800.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Booking from $3,950.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $3,902.54.

Booking Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Booking stock opened at $3,916.21 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,768.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,629.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.38. Booking has a 12-month low of $2,624.50 and a 12-month high of $4,040.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $11.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Booking will post 178.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at $15,157,314.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,021 shares of company stock worth $3,617,852 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Booking in the first quarter valued at approximately $401,371,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,635,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $24,841,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its stake in Booking by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,699,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Booking by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 32,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $113,827,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.