Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Increases Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 317.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,488 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,933 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 433,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,595,000 after buying an additional 43,184 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,806,000. Marion Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth about $291,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,728,810,000 after acquiring an additional 461,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 253.7% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 556,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,241,000 after purchasing an additional 398,849 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Royal Caribbean Cruises News

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Technical/bullish coverage: RCL recently printed a “golden cross” technical signal (50-day moving average crossing above the 200-day), which often attracts momentum buyers. Golden Cross Signal
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals/optimistic narratives: recent write-ups highlight strong revenue trends, fleet-expansion plans and long-term growth potential — headlines positioning RCL as a top growth name have likely supported buying interest. MarketBeat: Cruising Toward a New High
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal/industry event: the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear cases on compensation related to Cuba seizures that could affect maritime operators; this is longer-term legal uncertainty rather than an immediate earnings-shock. Supreme Court / Cuba Cases
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling: Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold multiple blocks of shares this week (three Form 4 disclosures show combined sales of roughly 473,548 shares, representing tens of millions of dollars), which can be perceived as a negative signal to some investors. Filing: SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Options-market activity: unusually large put buying was reported (about 17,883 put contracts, ~116% above average), which signals increased downside hedging or speculative bearish bets and may pressure sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/tourism disruption: cruise lines canceled Puerto Vallarta calls after violence in Mexico, forcing reroutes and potential incremental costs or customer accommodations—near-term itinerary disruption risk for the sector. Cruise Cancellations
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/trade risk: afternoon weakness in several travel and consumer names followed new global tariff comments from the administration, adding trade-policy uncertainty that can weigh on cyclical travel stocks. Tariff/Trade Policy News

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 345,111 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.73, for a total value of $108,961,896.03. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,207,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,432,929,342.41. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 80,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.82, for a total value of $26,145,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 58,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,990,856.56. This trade represents a 57.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,195,712 shares of company stock worth $383,111,652 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL opened at $317.10 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The stock has a market cap of $85.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.91. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $303.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $303.12. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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 fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RCL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Truist Financial cut their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

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.