Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $42.49 Million Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 57.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 131,310 shares of the company’s stock after selling 179,483 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $42,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of RCL. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,806,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 253.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 556,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,241,000 after acquiring an additional 398,849 shares during the period. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,562,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, December 26th. Finally, Mizuho set a $379.00 price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $278.32 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $164.01 and a 52-week high of $366.50. The company has a market capitalization of $75.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $304.23 and a 200-day moving average of $302.26.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders 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 a positive change 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 2.2%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total transaction of $2,562,053.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 32,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,695,121.06. This trade represents a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.