Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Has $178.72 Million Stake in Viking Holdings Ltd. $VIK

Key Points

• Artisan Partners trimmed its Viking Holdings stake by 15% in Q4, but still held about 2.5 million shares valued at roughly $178.7 million.
• Insider selling continued, including EVP Richard Marnell’s June sale of 11,287 shares and prior sales by EVP Jeffrey Dash; insiders sold 92,566 shares worth about $7.66 million over the last 90 days.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on Viking, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $96.38, while the stock recently traded near its 52-week high after reporting revenue that topped estimates.

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership reduced its stake in Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK - Free Report) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,502,697 shares of the company's stock after selling 441,551 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.56% of Viking worth $178,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Viking by 19,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 392 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Viking in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Viking by 316.0% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 416 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Viking by 651.8% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 421 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. 98.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Viking news, EVP Richard Marnell sold 11,287 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.85, for a total value of $1,047,997.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,050 shares in the company, valued at $10,868,092.50. This trade represents a 8.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey Dash sold 46,369 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.23, for a total value of $3,720,184.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 420,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,698,365.06. This represents a 9.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,566 shares of company stock valued at $7,657,130.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of Viking in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial upgraded Viking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $105.00 price objective on Viking in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on Viking from $76.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Viking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.38.

Viking Stock Down 0.6%

VIK stock opened at $94.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.27, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $42.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.59. Viking Holdings Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $47.02 and a fifty-two week high of $96.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $84.50 and a 200-day moving average of $76.55.

Viking (NYSE:VIK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.11). Viking had a return on equity of 149.40% and a net margin of 18.00%.The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.24) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Viking Profile

Viking Holdings Ltd engages in the passenger shipping and other forms of passenger transport in North America, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through River and Ocean segments. The company also operates as a tour entrepreneur for passengers and related activities in tourism. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a fleet of 92 ships, including 81 river vessels comprising 58 Longships, 10 smaller classes based on the Longship design, 11 other river vessels, and 1 river vessel charter and the Viking Mississippi; 9 ocean ships; and 2 expedition ships.

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