Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Grows Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 45,954 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $14,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Leuthold Group LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.5% during the third quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 11,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,608,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 74.6% during the 3rd quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth $259,000. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth $2,252,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,392,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $332.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.91. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $295.46 and a 200 day moving average of $303.60. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $164.01 and a 52-week high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

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.