Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Hits New 52-Week High at $4,149.20

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $4,149.20 and last traded at $4,130.00, with a volume of 39088 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $4,097.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Trading Up 2.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $141.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,772.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,733.66.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. During the same period last year, the company earned $37.62 EPS. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Booking

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in Booking by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Booking by 45.2% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 151 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its stake in Booking by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 158 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 358 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in Booking by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 32,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $113,827,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.