Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target Cut to $4,800.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

BKNG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cfra upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $5,120.00 target price (up from $4,900.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on Booking from $5,560.00 to $5,960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,278.66.

Booking Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,573.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $150.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4,695.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4,771.47. Booking has a 12 month low of $3,180.00 and a 12 month high of $5,337.24.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.82 by $5.73. The company had revenue of $5.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. Booking had a net margin of 24.78% and a negative return on equity of 159.34%. Equities research analysts predict that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $9.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.19%.

Institutional Trading of Booking

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Chicago Capital LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 235 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,084,000 after buying an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 1st quarter worth approximately $576,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Booking by 173.9% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 63 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 169 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Precision Wealth Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 19.9% in the first quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 578 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.