Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Boosts Position in Carnival Corporation $CCL

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,046,696 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 876,428 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.43% of Carnival worth $154,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Carnival by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Carnival by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Carnival by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Carnival in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Carnival by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 9,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543 shares during the last quarter. 67.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Carnival

Here are the key news stories impacting Carnival this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Geo‑political easing and oil-price slide boosted travel/cruise stocks, supporting CCL as investors priced in lower fuel costs and firmer demand. Why Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line Stocks Surged Today
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised a couple of near-term quarter estimates (Q2 2027 and Q4 2027), a modest constructive datapoint for those specific periods (Q2 0.57 from 0.48; Q4 0.58 from 0.50).
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/technical commentary is mixed — analysts and sites are debating whether the recent recovery offers sustainable value and noting a technical stall at prior support levels. Is Carnival (CCL) Offering Value After Recent Share Price Recovery?
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical note: some traders flagged profit‑taking after yesterday’s sharp move, suggesting short‑term volatility even if fundamentals improve. Stock Of The Day: Is The Carnival Corp. Rally Over?
• Negative Sentiment: Carnival trimmed its own guidance: Q2 2026 EPS guidance was lowered to $0.34 (vs. consensus ~$0.41) and FY2026 guidance to $2.21 (vs. consensus ~$2.38). That directly weakens near‑term expectations and is downward pressure on the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research issued multiple downward revisions — cuts to FY2026 (from $2.48 to $2.21), FY2028 (from $3.09 to $2.92) and several quarter estimates (Q1 2028, Q3 2026, Q3 2027) — while keeping a “Hold” stance. The aggregate effect is a softer analyst outlook.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $313,965.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,620.19. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Carnival Stock Performance

Carnival stock opened at $28.00 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.47. Carnival Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.05 and a 52 week high of $34.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last released its earnings results on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.13 billion. Carnival had a return on equity of 26.92% and a net margin of 11.48%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Carnival Corporation will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Carnival from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research cut Carnival from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley raised Carnival from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $31.00 in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Carnival from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Carnival in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Carnival currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.17.

About Carnival

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.