Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wedbush Analyst Says

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG - Free Report) had its price target increased by Wedbush from $5,000.00 to $5,500.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on BKNG. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $3,590.00 target price on shares of Booking in a report on Monday, October 7th. B. Riley lifted their price target on Booking from $4,650.00 to $5,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $4,600.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Booking from $5,400.00 to $6,000.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,972.75.

Booking Price Performance

Shares of BKNG stock traded up $5.94 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $4,909.79. The stock had a trading volume of 278,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 195,002. Booking has a 12-month low of $3,180.00 and a 12-month high of $5,337.24. The firm's 50-day moving average is $5,040.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4,329.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.41.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Booking's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Market Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Booking by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Booking by 214.2% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 751 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,731,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic raised its holdings in Booking by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 550 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,733,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Booking by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 179,902 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $896,455,000 after purchasing an additional 8,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Booking by 450.0% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 770 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,826,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company's stock.

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.