Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Stock Holdings Increased by Capital International Sarl

Capital International Sarl boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 5.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 304,979 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,313 shares during the period. Royal Caribbean Cruises accounts for 1.7% of Capital International Sarl’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Capital International Sarl’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $98,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RCL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at $1,021,893,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,604,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,270,252,000 after purchasing an additional 929,414 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 574,256 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at $172,488,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 91.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,087,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,590,000 after acquiring an additional 520,353 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 4.6%

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $290.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $304.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $301.83. The company has a market capitalization of $78.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total transaction of $453,144.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,203,935.82. This represents a 9.73% 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, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total value of $76,475,593.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,435,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,120,443,401.40. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. 6.95% of the stock is currently 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.