UBS Group Raises Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target to $5,050.00

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its target price lifted by UBS Group from $4,350.00 to $5,050.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on BKNG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Booking from $3,976.00 to $4,173.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Booking from $4,150.00 to $4,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,256.89.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of BKNG opened at $4,347.82 on Wednesday. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $2,733.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4,395.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4,043.91 and a 200 day moving average of $3,842.18. The firm has a market cap of $145.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 200.87%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $37.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Booking will post 177.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Solidarity Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Solidarity Wealth LLC now owns 1,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,321,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Booking by 560.5% during the 3rd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 1,169 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,924,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of Booking by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,216 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,123,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its position in shares of Booking by 1.0% during the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

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.