Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Shares Purchased by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 29.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,332 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 184.4% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on RCL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $361.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Freedom Capital cut shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Loop Capital started coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Monday, June 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $304.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $367.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $351.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $353.40.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE RCL opened at $307.90 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $302.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.90. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $232.10 and a 52 week high of $366.50. The stock has a market cap of $82.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $4.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.23. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 43.33% and a net margin of 23.54%.The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.730-17.870 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 6.260-6.360 EPS. Analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.79 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 12,811 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.99, for a total transaction of $4,048,147.89. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 45,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,313,399.03. The trade was a 22.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.