Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Has Average Price Target of $233.95

Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, twenty-six have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $233.95.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Booking from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, August 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Booking from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, Director Vanessa Wittman sold 1,125 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,536. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter Millones, Jr. sold 50,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 84,550 shares of company stock valued at $17,426,864. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kintegral Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Booking by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 31,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,105,000 after buying an additional 8,061 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Booking by 90.2% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 66,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,843,000 after purchasing an additional 31,559 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Booking by 270.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 463 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC grew its stake in Booking by 5.6% in the third quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 689.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. now owns 300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $163.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $122.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.13. Booking has a twelve month low of $150.14 and a twelve month high of $220.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $182.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.50.

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

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant reservation company headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. Through its digital platforms, the company helps consumers search for, compare and reserve accommodations, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, attractions and restaurant reservations.

Its portfolio includes Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and the travel metasearch brands Momondo and Cheapflights. Booking.com is primarily known for lodging reservations, while Priceline focuses on travel deals, Agoda serves customers across international markets with a strong presence in Asia, KAYAK and its related brands provide travel search and comparison services, and OpenTable operates a restaurant reservation platform.

The company was founded in 1997 as Priceline.com and was later renamed The Priceline Group before adopting the Booking Holdings name in 2018.