NEOS Investment Management LLC Buys 9,549 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 55.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 26,807 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,549 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $8,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth about $58,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $323.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.04 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $299.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.03. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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 dividend of $1.50 per share. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 80,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.82, for a total transaction 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 approximately $18,990,856.56. The trade was a 57.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 4,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.99, for a total value of $1,456,931.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,301,875.33. The trade was a 30.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 226,483 shares of company stock valued at $74,052,607 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

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.