Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 2,944 Shares of Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Carnival Co. & plc (NYSE:CCL) by 29.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,956 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,944 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Carnival Co. & were worth $240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CCL. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Carnival Co. & by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 18,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Carnival Co. & by 447.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 215,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,959,000 after buying an additional 176,286 shares in the last quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carnival Co. & in the 4th quarter worth about $1,368,000. Patton Fund Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Carnival Co. & by 981.9% in the 3rd quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 109,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,497,000 after acquiring an additional 99,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Carnival Co. & by 126.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 740,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,782,000 after acquiring an additional 413,082 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carnival Co. &

In other news, CFO David Bernstein sold 153,995 shares of Carnival Co. & stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.37, for a total transaction of $2,366,903.15. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 181,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,797,047.97. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Carnival Co. & Stock Up 1.9 %

Carnival Co. & stock opened at $14.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.35 billion, a PE ratio of 56.04 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.27, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.49 and a 200 day moving average of $15.61. Carnival Co. & plc has a one year low of $9.68 and a one year high of $19.74.

Carnival Co. & (NYSE:CCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Carnival Co. & had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 7.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.55) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Carnival Co. & plc will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Carnival Co. & in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on Carnival Co. & from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Carnival Co. & from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays increased their target price on Carnival Co. & from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Argus dropped their price target on shares of Carnival Co. & from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.47.

Carnival Co. & Company Profile

Carnival Corporation & plc engages in the provision of leisure travel services in North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: NAA Cruise Operations, Europe Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Other. It operates port destinations, private islands, and a solar park, as well as owns and operates hotels, lodges, glass-domed railcars, and motor coaches.