Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY Stake Increased by Milford Funds Ltd.

Milford Funds Ltd. boosted its stake in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,263,847 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 256,253 shares during the period. Ryanair comprises 1.3% of Milford Funds Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Milford Funds Ltd.’s holdings in Ryanair were worth $81,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Ryanair by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 466,733 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,221,000 after purchasing an additional 23,906 shares during the last quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co lifted its position in shares of Ryanair by 1.6% during the second quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 219,157 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,190,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ryanair by 34.1% during the second quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 139,753 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,049,000 after purchasing an additional 35,552 shares during the last quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Ryanair by 2,856.6% in the second quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,115 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ryanair by 122.7% in the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 18,123 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 9,985 shares in the last quarter. 43.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ryanair Price Performance

NASDAQ:RYAAY opened at $58.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.49. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a 12-month low of $53.14 and a 12-month high of $74.24.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last issued 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 company had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 21.23% and a net margin of 12.14%. Research analysts anticipate that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 3.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryanair Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 (DPR) is currently 24.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on RYAAY. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Ryanair from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.97.

Insider Transactions at Ryanair

In other Ryanair news, insider John Jh Hurley sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.24, for a total value of $468,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 76,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,375,021. This trade represents a 16.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Carol Marie Sharkey sold 6,999 shares of Ryanair stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $367,677.36. This trade represents a 33.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 126,607 shares of company stock worth $3,386,997 over the last 90 days.

Ryanair Profile

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.