Cantor Fitzgerald Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $3,590.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Booking from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Booking from $4,700.00 to $4,600.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Booking from $3,497.00 to $3,976.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. B. Riley lowered their price target on Booking from $4,900.00 to $4,650.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on Booking from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eleven equities 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Price Performance

Booking stock opened at $4,268.94 on Monday. Booking has a 1-year low of $2,733.04 and a 1-year high of $4,272.88. The stock has a market cap of $144.84 billion, a PE ratio of 32.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3,777.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,741.59.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.22 by $2.68. The company had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $37.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Booking will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total transaction of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Booking by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.