J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Acquires Shares of 3,635 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,014,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 135.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,306,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,925,000 after acquiring an additional 750,723 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 163.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,101,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,515,000 after acquiring an additional 683,896 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 560.9% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 676,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,949,000 after acquiring an additional 574,256 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth approximately $172,488,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 260.9% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 661,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,895,000 after purchasing an additional 477,883 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RCL. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Bank of America raised their price target 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. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $353.30.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 2.6%

RCL stock opened at $282.29 on Thursday. 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 moving average is $300.22 and its 200 day moving average is $292.85. The company has a market capitalization of $76.37 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.44%.

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

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total value of $113,355,118.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,681,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total value of $29,710,297.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.