ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Invests $1.74 Million in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. invested approximately $1.74 million in Carnival Corporation by acquiring 88,843 shares during the first quarter of this year.
• Recent insider transactions revealed that Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 12,500 shares at an average price of $29.75, reducing their stake in the company by 16.25%.
• Carnival Corporation's stock is currently valued at $28.37, reflecting a 2.2% decrease recently, despite positive earnings of $0.35 per share reported last quarter.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 88,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,735,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Carnival by 0.8% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 73,391 shares of the company's stock worth $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Carnival by 5.0% during the first quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 12,843 shares of the company's stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its position in shares of Carnival by 2.8% during the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 23,027 shares of the company's stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its position in shares of Carnival by 0.9% during the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 70,058 shares of the company's stock worth $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Carnival by 5.0% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 16,833 shares of the company's stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Carnival Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE:CCL traded up $0.62 on Wednesday, reaching $30.26. 10,624,761 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,932,354. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.54 and a 200-day moving average of $23.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. Carnival Corporation has a 52-week low of $14.53 and a 52-week high of $31.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 2.70.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 24th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.20 billion. Carnival had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Carnival Corporation will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Carnival

In other Carnival news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total value of $371,875.00. Following the sale, the director owned 64,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,916,078.50. This trade represents a 16.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on CCL shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Carnival from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Carnival from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America upped their target price on Carnival from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Carnival from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Carnival from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Carnival has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.71.

Carnival Company Profile

Carnival Corp. engages in the operation of cruise ships. It operates through the following business segments: North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise, Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Others. The North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise segment includes the Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn.