Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $4,692.00 to $5,411.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Booking traded as high as $5,815.92 and last traded at $5,815.92, with a volume of 175955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5,716.80.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. B. Riley raised their price target on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,415.00.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total value of $5,425,698.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,073,911.22. The trade was a 3.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 300.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 8 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $189.25 billion, a PE ratio of 36.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5,397.96 and a 200 day moving average of $4,980.35.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 143.67% and a net margin of 22.58%. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $20.39 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.89%.

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.