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

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 1st, Zacks reports. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th.

Booking has a payout ratio of 17.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 Performance

Shares of BKNG stock traded down $336.05 on Friday, reaching $3,328.13. 801,623 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 242,833. Booking has a 12-month low of $2,733.04 and a 12-month high of $4,144.32. The company has a market capitalization of $112.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $3,872.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,689.37.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 237.46% and a net margin of 22.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $37.62 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Booking will post 178.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BKNG. StockNews.com raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $3,950.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Benchmark reduced their price target on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $4,205.00 price target (up previously from $4,150.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,039.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,157,314.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 value 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.

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.