Brokerages Set Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Target Price at $3,876.96

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $3,876.96.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BKNG shares. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Booking in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Booking from $3,435.00 to $3,494.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Booking from $3,950.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total value of $812,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at $15,157,314.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 28 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,498.29, for a total value of $97,952.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $815,101.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,580.75, for a total transaction of $812,830.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,157,314.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,651 shares of company stock valued at $19,485,975 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,301 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $47,188,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Booking by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 4,390 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,539,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Booking by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $57,635,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in Booking in the fourth quarter worth about $24,841,000. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its holdings in Booking by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,889 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,699,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Booking Stock Up 0.1 %

BKNG traded up $2.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $3,825.10. 203,330 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 267,287. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3,585.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,485.93. 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 $129.79 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $14.03 by $6.36. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Booking had a net margin of 21.81% and a negative return on equity of 288.35%. The business's revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $11.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Booking will post 178.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Booking's payout ratio is 26.25%.

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.