JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Price Target to $4,025.00

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its price target lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $3,950.00 to $4,025.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BKNG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $3,850.00 price target on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Booking from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,800.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Ten 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $3,823.00.

Booking Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $104.47 on Friday, reaching $3,577.38. The company had a trading volume of 534,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 200,734. The stock has a market cap of $121.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3,524.43 and a 200-day moving average of $3,399.84. Booking has a 12 month low of $2,456.93 and a 12 month high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.03 by $6.36. The company 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 433.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $11.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Booking will post 176.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $8.75 per share. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,752,005. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,437.25, for a total transaction of $75,619.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $649,640.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,483 shares of company stock worth $18,891,445 in the last three months. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BKNG. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its holdings in Booking by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 129 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in Booking by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 764 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in Booking by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 88 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Booking by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 69 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Booking by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 894 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 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.