Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Wedbush

Wedbush reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $3,850.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. JMP Securities upped their target price on Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Booking in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an outperform rating and a $4,150.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $3,560.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Booking from $3,548.00 to $3,435.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Booking has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $3,823.00.

Booking Stock Up 3.0 %

Booking stock opened at $3,577.38 on Tuesday. Booking has a 52 week low of $2,456.93 and a 52 week high of $3,918.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.70 billion, a PE ratio of 30.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,523.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,395.60.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. Booking’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $11.60 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Booking will post 176.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is 29.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 211 shares in the company, valued at $756,027.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,534.10, for a total transaction of $2,650,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 26,971 shares in the company, valued at $95,318,211.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $756,027.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,483 shares of company stock worth $18,891,445. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,742,160,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 2,479.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 116,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $414,234,000 after purchasing an additional 112,249 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Booking during the 1st quarter worth about $401,371,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,774,850,000. Finally, BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Booking during the 4th quarter worth about $220,080,000. 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.