Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) to Issue $8.75 Quarterly Dividend

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 7th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of 8.75 per share by the business services provider on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th.

Booking has a payout ratio of 17.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Booking to earn $210.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $35.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.6%.

Booking Stock Up 0.2 %

Booking stock traded up $7.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $3,605.41. 266,281 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 270,239. The company has a fifty day moving average of $3,528.95 and a 200-day moving average of $3,418.38. The company has a market cap of $122.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40. Booking has a twelve month low of $2,456.93 and a twelve month high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 288.35% and a net margin of 21.81%. Booking's revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $11.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Booking will post 176.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total value of $1,045,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at $14,752,005. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total value of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at $14,752,005. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,483 shares of company stock worth $18,891,445. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKNG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Booking in a report on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn restated a "buy" rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $4,205.00 price objective (up from $4,150.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Booking from $3,435.00 to $3,494.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Booking presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $3,844.48.

Booking Company Profile

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.