Brokerages Set Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Target Price at $4,068.32

Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $4,068.32.

BKNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Benchmark decreased their target price on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $3,950.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, May 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value 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 approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Booking by 133.3% during the second 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $48.20 on Monday, reaching $3,443.05. 251,858 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 261,554. Booking has a one year low of $2,733.04 and a one year high of $4,144.32. The stock has a market cap of $116.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,833.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,684.51.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released 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. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 237.46%. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $37.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Booking will post 178.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.