Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $3,900.00 to $4,500.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Booking traded as high as $4,283.16 and last traded at $4,283.16, with a volume of 35182 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $4,233.18.

BKNG has been the topic of several other research reports. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Booking from $3,976.00 to $4,173.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Booking from $4,275.00 to $4,105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,092.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Booking

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Northstar Group Inc. increased its stake in Booking by 2.5% during the third quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 1,167 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,916,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 599 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,523,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Booking by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 16 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Booking in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Booking by 56.9% during the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 80 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Up 1.2 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,842.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,784.93. The company has a market capitalization of $145.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $37.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

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.