3,579,612 Carnival Corporation $CCL Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services cut its Carnival stake by 83.2%, selling 3.58 million shares in the third quarter and ending with 720,677 shares valued at about $17.7 million.
• Carnival beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $1.43 and revenue of $8.44 billion; revenue rose 3.5% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Moderate Buy, with a $34.16 average price target. Carnival also announced a $0.15 quarterly dividend, equal to a 2.0% annualized yield.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its stake in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) by 83.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 720,677 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,579,612 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Carnival worth $17,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Carnival by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,904,029 shares of the company's stock worth $411,372,000 after buying an additional 834,885 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Carnival by 67.3% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 6,770,304 shares of the company's stock valued at $193,428,000 after buying an additional 2,723,171 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Carnival by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,608,651 shares of the company's stock worth $145,152,000 after buying an additional 278,758 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Carnival by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,687,038 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,909,000 after acquiring an additional 480,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hound Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Carnival by 27.9% in the first quarter. Hound Partners LLC now owns 4,514,839 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,844,000 after purchasing an additional 985,772 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Carnival in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Freedom Broker lifted their price objective on shares of Carnival from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Carnival from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Carnival has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.16.

Carnival Stock Down 0.2%

Carnival stock opened at $30.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $25.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.16. Carnival Corporation has a 52-week low of $21.45 and a 52-week high of $34.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $41.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 2.48.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 29th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $8.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. Carnival had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 24.83%. Carnival's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Carnival has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.200-0.200 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.240-2.240 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Carnival Corporation will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. Carnival's payout ratio is presently 26.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carnival

In related news, Director Helen Deeble sold 25,000 shares of Carnival stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.75, for a total value of $693,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 63,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,762,263.75. The trade was a 28.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Carnival Profile

Carnival Corporation & plc is a global cruise company that operates cruise lines and provides ship-based vacations. Its brands include Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, Cunard, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, and P&O Cruises. The company's offerings include cruise itineraries, onboard accommodations, dining and entertainment, as well as shore excursions and other guest experiences. Its ships serve destinations across regions including the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska, Australia and Asia.

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