Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $4,253.58, but opened at $4,511.10. Booking shares last traded at $4,540.32, with a volume of 271,655 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Booking from $6,500.00 to $6,250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $5,500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Booking from $6,500.00 to $5,935.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Twenty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,867.09.

Booking Trading Up 8.1%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $4,806.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $5,108.83. The company has a market capitalization of $145.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.21.

Booking shares are scheduled to split on Monday, April 6th. The 25-1 split was announced on Wednesday, February 18th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, April 2nd.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $48.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $47.96 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 128.99% and a net margin of 20.08%.Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $41.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $10.50 dividend. This represents a $42.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $9.60. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 23.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vanessa Ames Wittman sold 15 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,191.15, for a total transaction of $77,867.25. Following the sale, the director directly owned 687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,566,320.05. The trade was a 2.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,149.75, for a total transaction of $1,875,687.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 18,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,948,814.25. This trade represents a 2.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,108 shares of company stock valued at $15,287,682. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,997,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,055,006,000 after buying an additional 23,159 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,171,489,000 after acquiring an additional 2,831,495 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Booking by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,435,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,685,520,000 after acquiring an additional 6,976 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Booking by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 966,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,173,899,000 after purchasing an additional 128,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 854,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,936,132,000 after purchasing an additional 9,333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.