Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. B. Riley increased their price objective on Booking from $4,400.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Benchmark raised Booking from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $4,700.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Booking from $3,494.00 to $3,497.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $3,850.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $3,980.15.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,967.25 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,882.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,675.70. The firm has a market cap of $134.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.75, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. Booking has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $11.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking will post 178.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total value of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 999 shares of company stock valued at $3,939,187. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.