Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Lowered to Hold at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $4,200.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $4,350.00.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on BKNG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. HSBC boosted their target price on Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Booking from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $4,073.38.

Booking Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of BKNG stock opened at $3,799.21 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $3,782.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,699.13. 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 $127.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $37.62 EPS. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Booking will post 177.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 26.25%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 available at this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Booking by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

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.