Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,130.18.

Booking Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $4,350.82 on Wednesday. Booking has a 1 year low of $2,733.04 and a 1 year high of $4,394.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3,980.33 and its 200-day moving average is $3,820.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $37.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Booking’s payout ratio is presently 24.50%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Montecito Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter worth about $461,000. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in Booking by 5.0% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 604 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in shares of Booking by 45.7% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 1,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,645,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Booking by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 407 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,264,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Company Profile

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.