Carnival Chairman reduces stake by around a quarter

Micky Arison, the long-standing Chairman of cruise line operator Carnival Corp., docked a batch of shares earlier this week ahead of its better-than-expected first quarter trading update. Arison offloaded 525,348 at $40.09 each, reducing his stake to 104.52m shares. The group on Tuesday reported flat earnings per share (EPS) during the first quarter of its fiscal year. Net revenue yields during the period fell by 2.1% in comparison with 2013, but were ahead of the company´s guidance for a drop of 3-4%. Similarly, net cruise costs, excluding fuel per available lower berth day, increased by 3.3% due to higher spending on advertising, which was better than December´s guidance that costs might increase 4.5% to 5.5%.Advance bookings for the remainder of 2014 are running ahead of last year´s levels, but at lower prices, the company said in the statement. Panmure on Wednesday reiterated its 'sell' rating on the stock, saying that the company "continues to struggle due to older ships, limited online penetration and controlled distribution". "With a protracted recovery likely in net revenue yields, better value exits elsewhere in the Travel & Leisure space," it added. Top Director BuysCrest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) Director name: Mr Jim PettigrewAmount purchased: 25,000 @ 383.04p Value: £95,760Oxford Pharmascience Group (OXP) Director name: Mr David Robert NorwoodAmount purchased: 1,000,000 @ 4.30p Value: £43,000Hardy Oil & Gas (HDY) Director name: Mr Alasdair LockeAmount purchased: 33,784 @ 74.00p Value: £25,000EKF Diagnostics Holdings (EKF) Director name: Mr Julian BainesAmount purchased: 71,428 @ 35.00p Value: £25,000EKF Diagnostics Holdings (EKF) Director name: Mr David EvansAmount purchased: 71,428 @ 35.00p Value: £25,000EKF Diagnostics Holdings (EKF) Director name: Mr Richard EvansAmount purchased: 52,142 @ 35.00p Value: £18,250AstraZeneca (AZN) Director name: Professor Genevieve BergerAmount purchased: 460 @ 3,896.00p Value: £17,922Japan Residential Investment Co Ltd. (JRIC) Director name: Mr Richard Crowder Amount purchased: 30,000 @ 59.00p Value: £17,700Norcros (NXR) Director name: Mr Martin TowersAmount purchased: 75,000 @ 20.37p Value: £15,278Hardy Oil & Gas (HDY) Director name: Mr Peter J MilneAmount purchased: 16,892 @ 74.00p Value: £12,500Top Director SellsCarnival (CCL) Director name: Mr Micky ArisonAmount sold: 525,348 @ 2,430.08p Value: £12,766,377Gresham Computing (GHT) Director name: Mr Chris ErringtonAmount sold: 970,000 @ 128.00p Value: £1,241,600Goals Soccer Centres (GOAL) Director name: Mr Morris PaytonAmount sold: 150,000 @ 216.50p Value: £324,750Gresham Computing (GHT) Director name: Mr Rob Grubb Amount sold: 75,000 @ 128.00p Value: £96,000EKF Diagnostics Holdings (EKF) Director name: Mr Gordon James HallAmount sold: 1,439,282 @ 1.00p Value: £14,393NR