Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC Boosts Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 227.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,429 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,854 shares during the period. Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. GGM Financials LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total transaction of $76,475,593.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,435,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,120,443,401.40. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total value of $453,144.30. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,203,935.82. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RCL. Tigress Financial boosted their target price 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. raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.52.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $280.94 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $304.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $299.18. The company has a market cap of $76.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.87. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $164.01 and a 12 month high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 38.44%.

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.