Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target Raised to $3,950.00

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its target price upped by Bank of America from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Edward Jones reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Booking in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an outperform rating and a $4,150.00 target price for the company. Ten 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $3,823.00.

Booking Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of BKNG opened at $3,577.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40. Booking has a twelve month low of $2,456.93 and a twelve month high of $3,918.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,524.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,406.68.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Activity

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 33,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Booking by 22.6% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,574 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,106,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Booking by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,577,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Booking by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 601 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Booking during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $256,000. 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.