Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Cantor Fitzgerald

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its target price lowered by Cantor Fitzgerald from $220.00 to $170.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Booking in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on Booking and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Rosenblatt Securities assumed coverage on Booking in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Booking in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Booking has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.95.

Booking Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $160.68 on Monday. Booking has a 52 week low of $150.14 and a 52 week high of $220.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $183.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.59. The company has a market cap of $120.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.13.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.40 EPS. Analysts expect that Booking will post 10.48 EPS for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total transaction of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Peter J. Millones sold 50,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.59, for a total value of $10,389,879.50. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 375,025 shares in the company, valued at $77,851,439.75. This trade represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $17,182,274 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Booking

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triangle Securities Wealth Management boosted its position in Booking by 16.1% during the third quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 4,938 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $804,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Booking by 116.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 35,198 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,734,000 after acquiring an additional 18,908 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Booking by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,042 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Booking by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 91,226 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,599,000 after acquiring an additional 1,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Booking by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booking News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Booking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven travel product: Booking announced a planned $100 million investment in Vayo, a new personal AI travel agent launching in private beta with a waitlist. Vayo is designed to organize travelers’ bookings, learn their preferences and provide ongoing trip assistance. The initiative could strengthen Booking’s customer engagement, create new monetization opportunities and help the company compete in AI-enabled travel planning. Booking Holdings Launches Vayo with Planned $100M Investment
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upside implied: A report cited an average analyst price target of $233.95 for BKNG, substantially above the latest trading level. This suggests that analysts generally see potential for recovery, although price targets can change and are not guarantees. Booking Holdings Stock Has Average Price Target of $233.95
• Neutral Sentiment: Travel demand remains a supporting factor: Priceline’s 2027 travel trends report described consumers continuing to prioritize meaningful trips, experiences and food-focused travel. As Priceline is part of Booking Holdings, sustained consumer interest could support bookings across the company’s platforms, though the report does not provide new BKNG financial guidance. Priceline Reveals 2027 Travel Trends Report
• Negative Sentiment: Investment and execution risk: The $100 million Vayo commitment will require substantial spending before the product proves it can attract users or generate meaningful revenue. Investors may also remain cautious because advance customer deposits largely belong to hotels and other travel providers, limiting how much of that cash Booking can ultimately retain. Booking Advance Deposits and Travel Providers

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel and restaurant reservation company headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. Through its digital platforms, the company helps consumers search for, compare and reserve accommodations, flights, rental cars, vacation packages, attractions and restaurant reservations.

Its portfolio includes Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable, Rentalcars.com and the travel metasearch brands Momondo and Cheapflights. Booking.com is primarily known for lodging reservations, while Priceline focuses on travel deals, Agoda serves customers across international markets with a strong presence in Asia, KAYAK and its related brands provide travel search and comparison services, and OpenTable operates a restaurant reservation platform.

The company was founded in 1997 as Priceline.com and was later renamed The Priceline Group before adopting the Booking Holdings name in 2018.