Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 7th

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of 9.60 per share by the business services provider on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75.

Booking has a dividend payout ratio of 15.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Booking to earn $243.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $38.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.8%.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG traded down $33.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $4,865.36. 29,451 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 274,124. The company’s fifty day moving average is $4,891.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,640.74. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,337.24. The stock has a market cap of $159.66 billion, a PE ratio of 28.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Booking stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 34.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 251 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Booking were worth $1,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Baird R W upgraded Booking to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,900.00 to $5,540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,370.43.

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.