With 63% institutional ownership, Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL) is a favorite amongst the big guns

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Carnival Corporation & implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 49% ownership
• Insiders have sold recently

Every investor in Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 63% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Carnival Corporation &, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Carnival Corporation &

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Carnival Corporation &?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Carnival Corporation & does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Carnival Corporation &'s historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Carnival Corporation &. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 9.3% of shares outstanding. With 9.3% and 5.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Micky Arison and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders. Micky Arison, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Top Key Executive.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Carnival Corporation &

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Carnival Corporation & plc. It is a very large company, and board members collectively own US$3.0b worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 27% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Carnival Corporation &. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Carnival Corporation & better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Carnival Corporation & has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit unpleasant) we think you should know about.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.