Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $3,950.00 to $5,000.00. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Booking traded as high as $4,371.17 and last traded at $4,366.32, with a volume of 16695 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4,297.72.

Several other analysts also recently commented on BKNG. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,900.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays raised their target price on Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,590.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Booking in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 price target for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,130.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Regatta Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.0% during the third quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 885 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,727,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.5% during the third quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. now owns 620 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,612,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 17.3% during the third quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 61 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 128.6% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 16 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Novare Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.4% during the third quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 476 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,005,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Up 0.2 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3,922.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,807.84. The stock has a market cap of $146.15 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its 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 net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $37.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

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.