Robert W. Baird Initiates Coverage on Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) in a report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $5,850.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

BKNG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Argus cut shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Booking from $3,976.00 to $4,173.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Booking from $4,448.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,820.50.

Booking Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $5,223.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $172.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.38. Booking has a 12 month low of $3,079.50 and a 12 month high of $5,237.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4,552.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4,071.32.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its position in Booking by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Booking by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,529,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Booking by 3,561.9% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,955,000 after buying an additional 2,992 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Booking by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 1,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,316,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC lifted its position in Booking by 268.5% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,147,000 after buying an additional 1,756 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.