Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its holdings in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) by 91.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,335 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 129,564 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Ryanair were worth $713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Ryanair by 151.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 355,617 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,672,000 after buying an additional 213,948 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in Ryanair by 2.9% in the first quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 977,250 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $56,485,000 after acquiring an additional 27,700 shares in the last quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Ryanair by 10.8% during the first quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 3,949,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $228,266,000 after purchasing an additional 385,444 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in shares of Ryanair during the fourth quarter worth $11,255,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ryanair during the first quarter worth $4,190,000. 43.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ryanair Stock Performance

Ryanair stock opened at $56.85 on Friday. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a twelve month low of $53.14 and a twelve month high of $74.24. The firm has a market cap of $29.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.59.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The transportation company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.18). Ryanair had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 21.23%. The business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Ryanair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Dara Brady sold 8,973 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $233,387.73. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 17,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,475.50. This represents a 33.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Darrell Thomas Hughes sold 8,197 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total value of $213,203.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 37,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $971,785.62. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 126,607 shares of company stock valued at $3,386,997 over the last 90 days.

About Ryanair

Ryanair Holdings plc is an Irish low-cost airline group headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1984, the company grew into one of Europe’s largest budget carriers by offering point-to-point scheduled passenger services with an emphasis on low fares, high aircraft utilization and rapid turnaround times. Ryanair serves a broad network across Europe and nearby regions, focusing on both intra-European leisure travel and short-haul business routes.

The group primarily operates a single-type fleet based on the Boeing 737 family, supplemented by a mix of in-house and subsidiary airlines that help serve different markets and regulatory environments.