ING Groep NV Reduces Holdings in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL)

ING Groep NV lessened its holdings in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) by 76.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,361 shares of the company's stock after selling 269,041 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Carnival were worth $1,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beck Bode LLC acquired a new stake in Carnival during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,715,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Carnival in the 4th quarter valued at $5,113,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Carnival by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 627,132 shares of the company's stock worth $15,628,000 after acquiring an additional 16,529 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Carnival by 31.0% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 122,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,427,000 after acquiring an additional 28,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Carnival by 6.2% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 183,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,399,000 after acquiring an additional 10,739 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Carnival from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Carnival from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Carnival from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Carnival from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Carnival from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.71.

Carnival Price Performance

Shares of Carnival stock traded down $0.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $28.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,048,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,153,840. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.69. Carnival Corporation has a 12-month low of $14.49 and a 12-month high of $31.01. The company has a market capitalization of $33.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 2.70. 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 (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 24th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $6.33 billion during 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 business's revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Carnival Corporation will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carnival

In related news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 12,500 shares of Carnival stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total transaction of $371,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 64,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,916,078.50. The trade was a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.