Carnival Corporation $CCL Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,300,704 shares of the company’s stock after selling 175,637 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Carnival were worth $161,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CCL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Carnival by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 112,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 5,435 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Carnival during the 1st quarter valued at about $228,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Carnival by 61.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 11,601 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in Carnival by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 88,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 26,141 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Carnival by 57.0% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 64,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 23,484 shares during the period. 67.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Carnival Trading Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE:CCL opened at $27.99 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.22 and a 200-day moving average of $28.02. The firm has a market cap of $34.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.33. Carnival Corporation has a twelve month low of $22.11 and a twelve month high of $34.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.13 billion. Carnival had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 26.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Carnival Corporation will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carnival

In other news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $313,965.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 52,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,620.19. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $314,265. Corporate insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CCL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $28.70 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Carnival from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Carnival from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Carnival has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.13.

Carnival Company Profile

Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) is a global cruise operator that provides leisure travel services through a portfolio of passenger cruise brands. The company’s core business is operating cruise ships that offer multi-night voyages and associated vacation services, including onboard accommodations, dining, entertainment, spa and wellness offerings, casinos, youth programs, and organized shore excursions. Carnival markets cruise vacations to a broad range of consumers, from value-focused travelers to premium and luxury segments, through differentiated brand positioning and onboard experiences.

Its operating structure comprises multiple well-known cruise brands that target distinct geographic and demographic markets.