Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target Increased to $3,494.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $3,435.00 to $3,494.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

BKNG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a hold rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Seaport Res Ptn reissued a buy rating on shares of Booking in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. B. Riley began coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a buy rating and a $4,400.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Booking from $3,580.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $3,823.00.

Booking Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,598.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3,526.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,412.40. Booking has a twelve month low of $2,456.93 and a twelve month high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Booking will post 176.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total value of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,483 shares of company stock valued at $18,891,445 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.