Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Cut to “Hold” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $4,200.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $4,350.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Booking from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $3,900.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned 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 price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Booking stock opened at $3,731.35 on Wednesday. Booking has a twelve month low of $2,733.04 and a twelve month high of $4,144.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,773.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,699.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $37.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking will post 177.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now 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 accessible through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s 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 owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 366 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 45.2% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 151 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,000. 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.