Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Booking Holdings Inc. has received a "Moderate Buy" consensus recommendation from 33 brokerages, with an average price target of $5,807.89.
• Insider trading was notable, with CEO Glenn D. Fogel selling 1,013 shares and reducing his position by 4.11%, while Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares, decreasing his position by 32.82%.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $9.60, representing a 0.7% yield with a payout ratio of 26.71%.

Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the thirty-three ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $5,807.8889.

A number of research firms have recently commented on BKNG. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $5,650.00 target price on Booking and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $6,250.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $6,700.00 target price (up from $6,100.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, July 30th.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, Director Larry Quinlan sold 64 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,511.80, for a total value of $352,755.20. Following the sale, the director owned 131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $722,045.80. The trade was a 32.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,516.92, for a total value of $5,588,639.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,237,930.44. This represents a 4.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,467,630 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,210,917,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 578,824.0% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289,462 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,675,765,000 after buying an additional 289,412 shares in the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Booking by 658,925.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 105,444 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $610,441,000 after buying an additional 105,428 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Booking by 1,411.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 112,201 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $516,900,000 after buying an additional 104,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. acquired a new position in Booking during the 2nd quarter worth $536,675,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Trading Down 0.1%

BKNG opened at $5,418.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $175.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.35. Booking has a 1 year low of $4,096.23 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5,524.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $5,297.52.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $41.90 earnings per share. Booking has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $9.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Booking's payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

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.

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