Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Upgraded at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $215.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial set a $242.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $234.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.98.

Booking Price Performance

BKNG opened at $171.40 on Monday. Booking has a 1-year low of $150.14 and a 1-year high of $225.00. The stock has a market cap of $128.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.13.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.Booking’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Booking will post 10.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total transaction of $259,530.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 71,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,440,138. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,274 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 3,475.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 3,550.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Financial Corp IN grew its holdings in Booking by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its position in Booking by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc is a global provider of online travel and related services. The company connects consumers with accommodations, flights, rental cars, restaurants and travel experiences through a portfolio of digital brands and websites.

Its principal brands include Booking.com, which offers lodging, transportation and travel experiences; Priceline, which provides online booking services for hotels, flights, rental cars and vacation packages; Agoda, which focuses primarily on travel bookings in Asia and other international markets; KAYAK, a travel metasearch engine; OpenTable, a restaurant reservation and management platform; and Rentalcars.com, a global car rental service.

Booking Holdings serves customers, travel providers and restaurants across numerous countries and regions, with a particularly extensive international presence.