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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on BKNG. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a buy rating and a $4,400.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and set a $3,850.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday. Eight investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $3,723.41.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $3,452.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,538.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,394.91. Booking has a 1-year low of $2,456.93 and a 1-year high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.72 by $2.28. The firm had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $24.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Booking will post 176.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.67%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,461 shares of company stock worth $18,815,825. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in Booking by 66.3% during the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 148 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Parthenon LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,020,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 7,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,441,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,226,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 2,800.0% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 29 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is 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.