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

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 1st, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of 8.75 per share by the business services provider on Monday, September 30th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th.

Booking has a payout ratio of 17.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Booking to earn $207.59 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 16.9%.

Booking Stock Down 9.2 %

BKNG stock traded down $336.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $3,328.13. 801,623 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 242,833. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,872.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,689.37. Booking has a 1 year low of $2,733.04 and a 1 year high of $4,144.32.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 237.46%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $37.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Booking will post 178.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total value of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BKNG. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $4,205.00 price target (up from $4,150.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Friday, May 3rd. B. Riley cut their price target on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,039.73.

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.