AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Trims Position in Carnival Corporation $CCL

Key Points

• AustralianSuper Pty Ltd cut its Carnival position by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 106,937 shares and leaving it with 1,989,544 shares worth about $60.8 million.
• Carnival reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $0.20 topping estimates of $0.18 and revenue of $6.17 billion slightly above forecasts, while revenue rose 6.1% year over year.
• Investors and analysts remain broadly positive: Carnival declared a $0.15 quarterly dividend and Wall Street’s consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with a target price of $34.37, even as some firms trimmed their price targets.

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd reduced its position in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,989,544 shares of the company's stock after selling 106,937 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned about 0.17% of Carnival worth $60,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Carnival during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,291,000. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Carnival by 10.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,795,560 shares of the company's stock worth $80,820,000 after acquiring an additional 272,452 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Carnival by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,133,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,913,190,000 after purchasing an additional 368,445 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Carnival by 5.6% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,774,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,867,000 after purchasing an additional 93,565 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Carnival by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,126,893 shares of the company's stock worth $65,487,000 after purchasing an additional 637,605 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Carnival Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:CCL opened at $25.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 2.33. Carnival Corporation has a one year low of $21.62 and a one year high of $34.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.30. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $26.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.14.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.02. Carnival had a return on equity of 26.92% and a net margin of 11.48%.The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. Carnival's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors 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 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Carnival's payout ratio is 26.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CCL. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Carnival from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Carnival from $33.00 to $28.70 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Carnival from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Carnival from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.37.

Insider Transactions at Carnival

In related news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 52,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,377,620.19. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $314,265 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.90% of the company's stock.

About Carnival

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.

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