Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Has Average Target Price of $222.35

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $222.35.

BKNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Booking from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Melius Research set a $225.00 price objective on Booking in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Booking from $232.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on Booking from $210.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “positive” rating and set a $179.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,800,000. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.48, for a total transaction of $610,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 73,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,935,432. This trade represents a 3.93% 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 sold 57,425 shares of company stock worth $11,783,564 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter worth approximately $345,000. Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co bought a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter worth $400,000. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter worth about $505,000. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS acquired a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter worth about $509,000. Finally, Kesler Norman & Wride LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter worth about $518,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $159.26 on Friday. Booking has a 1-year low of $146.28 and a 1-year high of $220.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.85 and a 200-day moving average of $175.68. The company has a market cap of $118.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.17.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.17. Booking had a negative return on equity of 89.54% and a net margin of 25.52%. The business had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $99.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking will post 10.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.12%.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc. is an online travel company that connects travelers with accommodations and other travel services. Through its digital platforms, customers can search for and book hotels, vacation rentals, flights, rental cars, attractions and other travel experiences. The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands, including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable. Its services span accommodation reservations, travel search and comparison, car rentals, and restaurant reservations.