Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

BKNG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on Booking from $3,900.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,820.50.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock opened at $5,223.15 on Wednesday. Booking has a one year low of $3,079.50 and a one year high of $5,237.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4,552.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,071.32. The company has a market capitalization of $172.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.44, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 23.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Booking by 707.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,241 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,270,000 after acquiring an additional 6,344 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 45.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 986 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,577,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its stake in Booking by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 5,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,466,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Booking during the first quarter valued at approximately $488,000. Finally, Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Booking in the first quarter valued at approximately $308,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

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.