JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Price

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its price objective decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $5,750.00 to $4,850.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on BKNG. Cfra upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,250.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Booking from $5,155.00 to $5,900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Booking presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5,327.28.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,494.64 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4,717.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $4,763.18. Booking has a 52-week low of $3,180.00 and a 52-week high of $5,337.24. The company has a market cap of $147.49 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $41.55 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Booking will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from Booking’s previous quarterly dividend of $8.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Booking by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,321,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Booking by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $896,455,000 after purchasing an additional 8,735 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,495,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Booking by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,160,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Booking by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $166,787,000 after buying an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.