Vinva Investment Management Ltd Acquires 6,495 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,417 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,495 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $13,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.7% during the third quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 78,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.1% during the third quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $463,000. Finally, Trustmark Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.7% in the third quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department now owns 1,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total value of $113,355,118.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total transaction of $29,710,297.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at $71,513,217.82. The trade was a 29.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL opened at $278.32 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $304.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $302.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $164.01 and a 52 week high of $366.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The company had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.