Morgan Stanley Raises Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target to $4,200.00

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on BKNG. Erste Group Bank upgraded Booking from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Booking from $4,300.00 to $3,900.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $4,064.21.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG opened at $3,731.35 on Thursday. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,144.32. The stock has a market cap of $126.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3,773.69 and its 200 day moving average is $3,699.80.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $37.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Booking will post 177.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Booking by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

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.