Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Acquires New Position in Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Ryanair Holdings PLC, purchasing approximately 2.79 million shares valued at around $118.07 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Cambiar Investors LLC and Northern Trust Corp, have significantly increased their stakes in Ryanair during the first quarter.
• Ryanair recently announced a dividend increase, now paying $0.534 per share, reflecting a yield of 120.0%, with a dividend payout ratio of 14.55%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new position in shares of Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,786,653 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $118,071,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.52% of Ryanair at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ryanair by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 962 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ryanair in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Ryanair by 39.8% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Ryanair by 260.5% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,424 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ryanair by 13.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 43.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ryanair Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:RYAAY traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $63.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 694,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,529,906. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.10 and a 200-day moving average of $52.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a 52-week low of $38.52 and a 52-week high of $67.18.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The transportation company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 27.91% and a net margin of 14.42%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Ryanair Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.534 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This is a positive change from Ryanair's previous special dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend yield of 120.0%. Ryanair's dividend payout ratio is 23.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oddo Bhf upgraded Ryanair from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ryanair from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $111.50.

About Ryanair

Ryanair Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides scheduled-passenger airline services in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and internationally. It is also involved in the provision of various ancillary services, such as non-flight scheduled and Internet-related services, as well as in-flight sale of beverages, food, duty-free, and merchandise; and markets car hire, travel insurance, and accommodation services through its website and mobile app.