Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. Invests $864,000 in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $864,000. Royal Caribbean Cruises makes up approximately 0.2% of Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 48.0% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $998,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 17,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,552,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Syon Capital LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 4,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on RCL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays increased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 58,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,990,856.56. This represents a 57.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 180,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.09, for a total value of $58,516,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,887,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,815,049,650.63. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 515,722 shares of company stock worth $168,242,004. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL stock opened at $319.11 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market cap of $86.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of $300.70 and a 200-day moving average of $303.15. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The business’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 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 yield of 1.9%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board upgrade: Royal Caribbean appointed Christopher J. Wiernicki (former Chairman & CEO of American Bureau of Shipping) to its board, which adds industry regulatory and maritime expertise that could benefit long‑term operations and safety/governance oversight. Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/media attention: Forbes published a take weighing RCL as potentially undervalued given growth, cash flow and margins, while Zacks highlighted increased investor attention and momentum scores — coverage that can attract buyers but is not a near‑term catalyst by itself. Forbes Article Zacks Article
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 180,000 shares on Feb. 17 (~$58.5M) and 100,000 shares on Feb. 13 (~$32.7M). Massive sales by a director can put downward pressure on the stock and raise short‑term concern about insider conviction. Wilhelmsen SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider disposals — Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares (~$2.56M) and director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares (~$453k) on Feb. 17. Multiple insider sales in the same window amplify selling signal to the market. Bethge SEC Filing Gomez Montiel SEC Filing

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.