Bessemer Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Carnival Corporation $CCL

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. cut its Carnival stake by 68% in the fourth quarter, selling more than 18 million shares and leaving it with 8.5 million shares valued at about $259.6 million.
• Carnival reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.20 versus $0.18 expected and revenue of $6.17 billion versus $6.13 billion anticipated. Revenue also rose 6.1% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, and analysts currently have a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a target price of $34.37, though some firms have recently lowered their ratings or targets.

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its position in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) by 68.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,500,463 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,090,978 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.73% of Carnival worth $259,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Carnival by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,133,282 shares of the company's stock worth $3,913,190,000 after purchasing an additional 368,445 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Carnival by 4.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,369,740 shares of the company's stock worth $1,369,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845,850 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in Carnival by 0.8% in the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 36,109,629 shares of the company's stock worth $1,043,929,000 after purchasing an additional 291,864 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Carnival by 9.6% in the third quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 31,912,001 shares of the company's stock worth $922,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783,927 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Carnival by 50.7% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,510,016 shares of the company's stock worth $419,573,000 after purchasing an additional 4,883,024 shares during the period. 67.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carnival

In other news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of Carnival stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $313,965.72. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,377,620.19. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $314,265. 7.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Carnival Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:CCL opened at $25.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 2.33. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $26.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.14. Carnival Corporation has a 52-week low of $21.62 and a 52-week high of $34.03.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.13 billion. Carnival had a return on equity of 26.92% and a net margin of 11.48%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Carnival Corporation will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Carnival Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Carnival's payout ratio is presently 26.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CCL. Zacks Research cut Carnival from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley raised Carnival from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings raised Carnival from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Barclays cut their target price on Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.37.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.