Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target Raised to $6,500.00

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its price target upped by Citigroup from $5,560.00 to $6,500.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on BKNG. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,550.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Booking from $5,540.00 to $4,330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Booking from $5,900.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Booking from $5,000.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5,781.04.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKNG opened at $5,386.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $174.57 billion, a PE ratio of 37.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.41. Booking has a 1 year low of $3,180.00 and a 1 year high of $5,839.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5,568.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $5,074.51.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $55.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.32 by $5.08. Booking had a negative return on equity of 134.19% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $41.90 EPS. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Booking will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booking

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total transaction of $5,769,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,674,935. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,039 shares of company stock worth $16,963,769. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booking during the second quarter worth $29,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted its stake in Booking by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.