Capital World Investors Sells 365,682 Shares of Carnival Corporation $CCL

Key Points

• Capital World Investors cut its Carnival stake by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 365,682 shares and leaving it with 2,774,696 shares worth about $84.7 million.
• Analysts remain mostly constructive on Carnival despite some price-target cuts, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.80.
• Carnival reported solid quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, or $0.60 annually for a 2.2% yield.

Capital World Investors lowered its position in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,774,696 shares of the company's stock after selling 365,682 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 0.22% of Carnival worth $84,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CCL. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Carnival in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carnival during the third quarter worth $25,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Carnival during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Carnival by 381.0% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 962 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carnival during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CCL shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Carnival from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Carnival from $40.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Carnival from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.80.

Carnival Stock Up 2.6%

Carnival stock opened at $27.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $34.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 2.32. Carnival Corporation has a 1-year low of $22.11 and a 1-year high of $34.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.13 billion. Carnival had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 26.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Carnival Corporation will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carnival Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Carnival's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carnival news, insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total value of $1,209,929.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 69,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,945,587.80. This trade represents a 38.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $313,965.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 52,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,377,620.19. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 55,058 shares of company stock valued at $1,524,195. 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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