Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its stake in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) by 20.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,633,551 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 679,544 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.51% of Ryanair worth $152,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Ryanair by 53.1% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 153,547 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,875,000 after buying an additional 53,255 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Ryanair by 429.1% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 68,419 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,955,000 after acquiring an additional 55,487 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Ryanair by 34.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,172,317 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $125,560,000 after acquiring an additional 555,029 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ryanair by 139.5% during the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 9,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 5,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Ryanair by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 38,902 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 2,543 shares in the last quarter. 43.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Ryanair news, insider Darrell Thomas Hughes sold 8,197 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $213,203.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 37,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $971,785.62. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Carol Marie Sharkey sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total value of $182,043.99. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 14,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $367,677.36. The trade was a 33.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 126,607 shares of company stock worth $3,386,997 over the last 90 days.

Ryanair Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of Ryanair stock opened at $60.17 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.18. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a 12-month low of $53.14 and a 12-month high of $74.24. The stock has a market cap of $31.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.15.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The transportation company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Ryanair had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 21.23%. On average, analysts forecast that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.4434 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Ryanair’s dividend payout ratio is 17.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RYAAY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research raised Ryanair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.50.

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.