Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 17,337 Shares of Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,895 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,337 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Ryanair were worth $1,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors grew its position in Ryanair by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,422,006 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,099,700,000 after purchasing an additional 3,734,770 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,085,927 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,759,590,000 after buying an additional 2,791,513 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,453,075 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,100,716,000 after buying an additional 183,584 shares during the last quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,168,162 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $368,901,000 after buying an additional 368,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 179.1% in the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,594,774 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,052,000 after buying an additional 1,023,297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RYAAY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup upgraded Ryanair to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. HSBC cut Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ryanair to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Ryanair from $149.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Ryanair to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.67.

Ryanair Stock Up 1.1 %

RYAAY stock opened at $45.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $87.09 and its 200 day moving average is $109.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Ryanair Holdings plc has a 1-year low of $34.87 and a 1-year high of $60.29.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($1.20). The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.32 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 20.43% and a net margin of 12.07%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ryanair Holdings plc will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a Variable dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.692 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Ryanair’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.94%.

Ryanair Company Profile

Ryanair Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides scheduled-passenger airline services in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and internationally. It is also involved in the provision of various ancillary services, such as non-flight scheduled and Internet-related services, as well as in-flight sale of beverages, food, duty-free, and merchandise; and markets car hire, travel insurance, and accommodation services through its website and mobile app.