Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given New $6,000.00 Price Target at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays has raised the price target for Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG) from $5,700 to $6,000, indicating a potential upside of 8.92% from its previous close.
• Booking recently reported $55.40 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $50.32, along with a revenue of $6.80 billion.
• Despite the positive ratings from several analysts, shares of Booking are currently down 1.5% and have fluctuated between a 52-week low of $3,180 and a high of $5,839.41.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Barclays from $5,700.00 to $6,000.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on BKNG. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $6,200.00 price target (up previously from $6,000.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $5,820.00 to $5,850.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Booking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Booking to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Eleven research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5,781.04.

Booking Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG traded down $47.91 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $5,456.15. The stock had a trading volume of 35,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 253,481. Booking has a 52 week low of $3,180.00 and a 52 week high of $5,839.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5,567.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5,070.33.

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

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $9.60 dividend. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Booking's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.89%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5,695.00, for a total value of $5,769,035.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 26,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,674,935. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,039 shares of company stock valued at $16,963,769. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booking

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 31 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 124 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 12 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 1.2% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 167 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 2 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.