UBS Group Raises Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target to $5,050.00

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its target price boosted by UBS Group from $4,350.00 to $5,050.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

BKNG has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Booking from $3,976.00 to $4,173.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Booking from $4,500.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark dropped their price target on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, B. Riley dropped their price target on Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,164.11.

Booking Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Booking stock opened at $4,313.01 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $4,029.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,838.71. The company has a market capitalization of $146.33 billion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40. Booking has a 52 week low of $2,733.04 and a 52 week high of $4,395.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $37.62 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Booking will post 177.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Booking by 133.3% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Booking in the third quarter worth about $29,000. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.