Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) PT Raised to $3,976.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,342.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and set a $3,950.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Monday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an outperform rating and set a $4,205.00 price objective (up previously from $4,150.00) on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of Booking from $4,220.00 to $4,230.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $4,068.32.

Booking Price Performance

NASDAQ BKNG traded up $61.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3,444.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 285,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 258,707. Booking has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,144.32. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,863.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,691.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.38.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The firm had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. Booking had a net margin of 22.46% and a negative return on equity of 237.46%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $37.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking will post 178.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.25%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Booking in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,742,160,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the first quarter worth approximately $401,371,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,774,850,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter worth approximately $220,080,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Booking by 4,565.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 62,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,143,000 after buying an additional 61,268 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.