Booking’s (BKNG) “Hold” Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark restated their hold rating on shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BKNG. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Booking from $3,800.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. StockNews.com lowered Booking from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a buy rating and a $4,400.00 target price for the company. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn reissued a buy rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $3,823.00.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock opened at $3,577.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,524.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,406.68. Booking has a 12 month low of $2,456.93 and a 12 month high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $11.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking will post 176.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total value of $2,650,575.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,318,211.10. 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 4,302 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,483 shares of company stock worth $18,891,445 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,742,160,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Booking by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 383,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,184,224,000 after purchasing an additional 5,040 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Booking by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 376,734 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,336,362,000 after purchasing an additional 15,381 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 275,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $976,096,000 after buying an additional 9,419 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Booking by 22.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 159,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $584,492,000 after buying an additional 28,904 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.