StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.
A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on BKNG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush lifted their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. B. Riley increased their price objective on Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on Booking from $5,100.00 to $5,600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $5,400.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5,370.43.
View Our Latest Report on BKNG
Booking Trading Up 2.0 %
BKNG traded up $92.46 on Thursday, reaching $4,709.72. The stock had a trading volume of 232,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,611. The business's 50-day moving average price is $4,788.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,713.79. Booking has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,337.24. The company has a market cap of $154.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.40.
Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. As a group, analysts predict that Booking will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.
Booking Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from Booking's previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.19%.
Institutional Trading of Booking
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Booking by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,321,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Booking by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $896,455,000 after purchasing an additional 8,735 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Booking by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,495,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,160,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $166,787,000 after buying an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Booking
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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