Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. HSBC increased their price objective on Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and set a $3,950.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $4,068.32.

Booking Stock Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $3,394.85 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,840.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,684.94. Booking has a 12-month low of $2,733.04 and a 12-month high of $4,144.32. The firm has a market cap of $115.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a negative return on equity of 237.46% and a net margin of 22.46%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $37.62 EPS. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Booking will post 178.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $401,371,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,635,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its holdings in Booking by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,699,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in Booking by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 32,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $113,827,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted its position in shares of Booking by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 18,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,234,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.