Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Receives $227.14 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-seven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $227.1388.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC decreased their price target on Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Booking from $224.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Benchmark decreased their price target on Booking from $256.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $215.00 price target on Booking and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 16,726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.36, for a total value of $3,100,331.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 298,174 shares in the company, valued at $55,269,532.64. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,081,600. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,576 shares of company stock valued at $6,187,746. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Booking by 1,497.3% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,665,168,000 after purchasing an additional 816,022 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,271,041,000. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Booking by 28,353.8% in the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 204,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,083,000 after buying an additional 203,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its stake in Booking by 862.0% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,890,000 after buying an additional 195,411 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG opened at $154.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $172.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.55. The company has a market cap of $119.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.10. Booking has a 1 year low of $150.62 and a 1 year high of $233.58.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 117.14%. The company’s revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Booking will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.