Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 515,804 Shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in Carnival Corporation by 10.6%, selling 515,804 shares, and now holds approximately 0.37% of the company worth $84.5 million.
• Other institutional investors have adjusted their positions in Carnival, with PNC Financial increasing its holdings by 1.1% and US Bancorp DE boosting its stake by 13.5% during the same period.
• Carnival reported a Q2 EPS of $0.35, exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenue growing 9.5% year-over-year to reach $6.33 billion.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its position in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,327,765 shares of the company's stock after selling 515,804 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.37% of Carnival worth $84,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CCL. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Carnival by 1.1% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 202,302 shares of the company's stock worth $3,951,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Carnival during the first quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Commerce Bank grew its stake in Carnival by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 23,027 shares of the company's stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Carnival in the 1st quarter valued at $2,939,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Carnival by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 38,769 shares of the company's stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 4,599 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Carnival Stock Performance

Shares of Carnival stock opened at $29.06 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.56. Carnival Corporation has a one year low of $13.78 and a one year high of $31.01.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Carnival from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Carnival from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Carnival from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. HSBC upgraded shares of Carnival from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Carnival from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

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