Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 743,638 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.27% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $240,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. GGM Financials LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 318.8% during the third quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 38.1% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $290.96 on Tuesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $164.01 and a 1 year high of $366.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $304.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors 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 is an increase 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 is 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 16,435,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,120,443,401.40. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total transaction of $453,144.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,849 shares in the company, valued at $4,203,935.82. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. 6.95% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.