Wells Fargo & Company Raises Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target to $3,494.00

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

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BKNG. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday. JMP Securities raised 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 research note on Monday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Booking from $3,450.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $3,823.00.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,577.38 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $3,524.43 and its 200-day moving average is $3,406.68. Booking has a 52-week low of $2,456.93 and a 52-week high of $3,918.00. The company has a market cap of $121.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total value of $1,045,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the business’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 transaction of $218,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,483 shares of company stock worth $18,891,445. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Booking by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,574 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,106,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Booking by 5.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,577,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in shares of Booking by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 601 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after purchasing 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. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.