Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 872,127 Shares of Carnival Corporation $CCL

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,930,139 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 872,127 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Carnival were worth $150,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CCL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Carnival by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,133,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,913,190,000 after acquiring an additional 368,445 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Carnival by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,074,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,468,185,000 after purchasing an additional 704,433 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carnival by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 36,109,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,043,929,000 after purchasing an additional 291,864 shares in the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Carnival by 9.6% in the third quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 31,912,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $922,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783,927 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Carnival by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,450,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $896,104,000 after purchasing an additional 683,311 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CCL. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Carnival from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Carnival from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Carnival to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Carnival from $40.00 to $30.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.85.

Carnival Price Performance

Carnival stock opened at $30.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.18. Carnival Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.58 and a 12 month high of $34.03.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.02. Carnival had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 26.92%. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Carnival Corporation will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Carnival Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Carnival’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of Carnival 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 transaction, the director owned 52,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,620.19. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $1,209,929.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 69,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,945,587.80. This represents a 38.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,058 shares of company stock worth $1,524,195. 7.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Carnival Company Profile

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.