Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 1,079,920 Shares of Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) by 142.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,839,384 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,079,920 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Ryanair worth $81,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Ryanair by 188.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,263,436 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,231,762,000 after acquiring an additional 17,810,361 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in Ryanair by 175.7% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 23,548,902 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,063,939,000 after purchasing an additional 15,008,023 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Ryanair by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,734,646 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $394,631,000 after purchasing an additional 2,279,679 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Ryanair by 169.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,305,368 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $284,893,000 after purchasing an additional 3,967,436 shares during the period. Finally, Metropolis Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Ryanair by 177.4% during the 3rd quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 4,006,107 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $180,996,000 after buying an additional 2,562,066 shares in the last quarter. 43.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ryanair Trading Up 1.6 %

RYAAY traded up $0.70 on Tuesday, hitting $45.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,249,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,542. Ryanair Holdings plc has a 12-month low of $36.96 and a 12-month high of $60.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $44.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.99. The company has a market cap of $24.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.51.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The transportation company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.59 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 11.38%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.88 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ryanair Holdings plc will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Ryanair Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.4677 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Ryanair's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on RYAAY shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ryanair from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays upgraded Ryanair from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Ryanair from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Ryanair from $149.00 to $147.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ryanair currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $154.67.

About Ryanair

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.