Booking’s (BKNG) Hold Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports.

BKNG has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Booking from $3,548.00 to $3,435.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Erste Group Bank reissued a hold rating on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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 note on Friday, January 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $3,823.00.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of Booking stock opened at $3,598.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $122.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40. Booking has a 1 year low of $2,456.93 and a 1 year high of $3,918.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3,526.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,412.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $11.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Booking will post 176.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at $114,826,417. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,483 shares of company stock worth $18,891,445. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Booking by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking by 0.6% in the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 4,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,539,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,635,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $24,841,000. Finally, Advisor Resource Council grew its holdings in Booking by 382.4% in the 4th quarter. Advisor Resource Council now owns 357 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.