M&G PLC Raises Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

M&G PLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 17.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 193,493 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,036 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $62,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth $38,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 85.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 2025 results showed solid demand and margin recovery — revenue and EPS rose ~13% and ~36% year‑over‑year, operating profit jumped ~49%, and operating cash generation improved. These fundamentals support analyst bullishness and longer‑term earnings upgrades. RCL Q4 2025 Earnings (QuiverQuant)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains constructive: broker consensus is around a “Moderate Buy” and many firms maintain buy/overweight ratings with price targets well above current levels — a tailwind for the stock if sentiment persists. Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy (AmericanBankingNews)
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research nudged near‑term EPS estimates slightly higher for Q1 and Q2, signaling some upward revision to the company’s short‑term earnings outlook. (These are modest changes but supportive.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also published longer‑range projections (FY2027/FY2028) that are mixed — a small cut to FY2027 was offset by higher FY2028 expectations — leaving medium‑term consensus roughly intact.
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Caribbean priced $2.5 billion of senior unsecured notes ($1.25B due 2033 at 4.75% and $1.25B due 2038 at 5.25%). The deal increases debt and fixed interest obligations, which can pressure the stock, especially given already elevated capex and leverage metrics. Pricing of Senior Unsecured Notes (PR Newswire) Royal Caribbean Issues $2.5 Billion in Senior Notes (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: High near‑term capital spending: management’s reported capex jumped materially in Q4, and Quiver data shows insider sales in recent months — both factors can worry investors about future free cash flow and signal reduced insider conviction. Capex & Insider Activity (QuiverQuant)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.82, for a total value of $26,145,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 58,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,990,856.56. The trade was a 57.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 51,131 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.39, for a total transaction of $16,739,778.09. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 28,116 shares in the company, valued at $9,204,897.24. The trade was a 64.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 226,483 shares of company stock worth $74,052,607 over the last ninety days. 6.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL opened at $319.26 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $296.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $302.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.