Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen Sells 109,297 Shares of Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 109,297 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.81, for a total transaction of $34,407,788.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,571,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,531,768,284.08. This trade represents a 0.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 24th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 345,111 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.73, for a total value of $108,961,896.03.
• On Monday, February 23rd, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 19,140 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.30, for a total value of $6,073,122.00.
• On Thursday, February 19th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 101,902 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.09, for a total value of $31,802,595.18.
• On Wednesday, February 18th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 104,540 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.64, for a total value of $33,624,245.60.
• On Tuesday, February 17th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 180,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.09, for a total value of $58,516,200.00.
• On Friday, February 13th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 100,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.58, for a total value of $32,658,000.00.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $317.10 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $164.01 and a 12-month high of $366.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $303.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $303.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $85.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.91.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 40.8% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 20,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,297,000 after purchasing an additional 6,063 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 151.8% in the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,565 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth $791,000. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.3% during the second quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RCL has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.29.

Key Headlines Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Technical/bullish coverage: RCL recently printed a “golden cross” technical signal (50-day moving average crossing above the 200-day), which often attracts momentum buyers. Golden Cross Signal
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals/optimistic narratives: recent write-ups highlight strong revenue trends, fleet-expansion plans and long-term growth potential — headlines positioning RCL as a top growth name have likely supported buying interest. MarketBeat: Cruising Toward a New High
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal/industry event: the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear cases on compensation related to Cuba seizures that could affect maritime operators; this is longer-term legal uncertainty rather than an immediate earnings-shock. Supreme Court / Cuba Cases
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling: Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold multiple blocks of shares this week (three Form 4 disclosures show combined sales of roughly 473,548 shares, representing tens of millions of dollars), which can be perceived as a negative signal to some investors. Filing: SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Options-market activity: unusually large put buying was reported (about 17,883 put contracts, ~116% above average), which signals increased downside hedging or speculative bearish bets and may pressure sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/tourism disruption: cruise lines canceled Puerto Vallarta calls after violence in Mexico, forcing reroutes and potential incremental costs or customer accommodations—near-term itinerary disruption risk for the sector. Cruise Cancellations
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/trade risk: afternoon weakness in several travel and consumer names followed new global tariff comments from the administration, adding trade-policy uncertainty that can weigh on cyclical travel stocks. Tariff/Trade Policy News

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL), operating as part of the Royal Caribbean Group, is a global cruise company that develops, markets and operates passenger cruise ships. The company operates multiple consumer-facing cruise brands that offer short- and long-duration itineraries and a range of onboard experiences. Its core activities include itineraries and voyage operations, guest services and hospitality, onboard food and beverage, entertainment and recreation programming, and the commercial activities needed to sell and support cruises through both direct and travel‑agent channels.

Royal Caribbean’s ships serve a broad set of geographies worldwide, regularly deploying vessels in the Caribbean, North America (including Alaska), Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.