Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $4,692.00 to $5,411.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Booking traded as high as $5,815.92 and last traded at $5,815.92, with a volume of 175955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5,716.80.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Booking from $5,000.00 to $4,800.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. B. Riley increased their target price on Booking from $6,000.00 to $6,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JMP Securities increased their target price on Booking from $5,600.00 to $5,700.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Booking from $5,120.00 to $5,077.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,415.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 1,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5,356.07, for a total value of $5,425,698.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,073,911.22. This trade represents a 3.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Booking by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 31 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Booking by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 124 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Booking by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP raised its stake in Booking by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 12 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Booking by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 167 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5,379.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4,974.98. The stock has a market cap of $189.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 143.67% and a net margin of 22.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $20.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 EPS for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.89%.

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.