Capital International Investors Acquires 308,330 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,949,976 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 308,330 shares during the quarter. Royal Caribbean Cruises makes up about 1.7% of Capital International Investors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Capital International Investors owned approximately 12.08% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $10,662,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 213,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,042,000 after acquiring an additional 21,317 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,416,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,221,000 after acquiring an additional 62,803 shares in the last quarter. Pinkerton Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 235.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pinkerton Wealth LLC now owns 9,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,043,000 after acquiring an additional 6,598 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 7,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fieldview Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,464,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 4.6%

NYSE RCL opened at $290.96 on Tuesday. 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 Ltd. has a one year low of $164.01 and a one year high of $366.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $304.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $301.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on RCL. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Profile

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.