Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given New $3,494.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its price objective increased by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $3,435.00 to $3,494.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 2.33% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Booking from $3,950.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Susquehanna raised their target price on Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Booking from $3,900.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $4,150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,823.00.

Booking Stock Up 3.0 %

BKNG traded up $104.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $3,577.38. 534,621 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 269,375. The firm has a market cap of $121.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3,523.00 and its 200 day moving average is $3,395.60. Booking has a one year low of $2,456.93 and a one year high of $3,918.00.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $20.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 negative return on equity of 751.49% and a net margin of 20.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $11.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Booking will post 176.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Booking news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction of $14,724,670.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,826,417. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Booking news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 59 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $218,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,300. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 4,302 shares of Booking stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,422.75, for a total transaction of $14,724,670.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,826,417. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,483 shares of company stock valued at $18,891,445 over the last quarter. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Booking

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 8.8% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,188,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. increased 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 worth $13,539,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 3.0% in the 4th 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 period. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new position in Booking during the fourth quarter valued at $24,841,000. Finally, Advisor Resource Council grew its holdings in Booking by 382.4% during the fourth quarter. Advisor Resource Council now owns 357 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by 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.