Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Rating Reiterated by BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $4,205.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $4,150.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on BKNG. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $3,800.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $3,823.00.

Booking Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded up $104.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3,577.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 534,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 200,734. The firm has a market cap of $121.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3,524.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,399.84. Booking has a 1 year low of $2,456.93 and a 1 year high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 433.49% and a net margin of 21.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $11.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking will post 176.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,483 shares of company stock valued at $18,891,445. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 22.6% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,574 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,106,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,577,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in Booking by 0.7% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 601 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Booking in the 3rd quarter worth $256,000. 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.