Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Carnival Corporation by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, owning approximately 1.81 million shares valued at $35.4 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. and Orion Capital Management, have recently taken new positions in Carnival, contributing to the overall hedge fund ownership of 67.19% of the company.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Carnival shares, with Citigroup setting a new target of $37.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,814,479 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 135,913 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.16% of Carnival worth $35,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Carnival during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carnival during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carnival during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Carnival during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Wealthquest Corp purchased a new position in shares of Carnival during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CCL shares. Citigroup increased 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. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Carnival from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Carnival from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Carnival in a research report on Friday, April 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Carnival has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carnival

In other Carnival news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 $1,916,078.50. This trade represents a 16.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Carnival Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of Carnival stock opened at $28.37 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.33 and a 200-day moving average of $23.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $33.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 2.70. Carnival Corporation has a 1-year low of $14.49 and a 1-year high of $31.01.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 24th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Carnival's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Carnival Corporation will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Carnival

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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