Insider Selling: Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Director Sells 170,105 Shares of Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 170,105 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.92, for a total value of $53,739,571.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,037,412 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,459,199.04. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 27th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total value of $76,475,593.04.
• On Thursday, February 26th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total value of $113,355,118.14.
• On Tuesday, February 24th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 345,111 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.73, for a total value of $108,961,896.03.
• On Monday, February 23rd, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 19,140 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.30, for a total transaction of $6,073,122.00.
• On Friday, February 20th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 109,297 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.81, for a total transaction of $34,407,788.57.
• On Thursday, February 19th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 101,902 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.09, for a total transaction of $31,802,595.18.
• On Wednesday, February 18th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 104,540 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.64, for a total transaction of $33,624,245.60.
• On Tuesday, February 17th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 180,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.09, for a total transaction of $58,516,200.00.
• On Friday, February 13th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 100,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.58, for a total value of $32,658,000.00.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 2.6%

RCL stock traded down $8.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $310.49. 2,986,249 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,416,793. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $164.01 and a 52-week high of $366.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $304.26 and a 200-day moving average of $303.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm 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%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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 fiscal year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 184.4% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company expansion push — coverage highlights Royal Caribbean’s aggressive growth and fleet/itinerary expansion plans that back continued demand recovery and revenue upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Luxury brand development — Silversea unveiled public spaces for The Cormorant at 55 South, a new hotel supporting Antarctic fly‑cruise packages, strengthening the company’s premium/expedition revenue mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Completed $2.5B senior notes offering — RCL issued $1.25B of 4.75% notes due 2033 and $1.25B of 5.25% notes due 2038. The deal boosts liquidity and funds financing needs but increases long‑term debt and interest expense. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 771,607 shares across Feb 25–27 for roughly $243.6M in proceeds (three Form 4 filings). While the sales are a small percentage of his total holdings, the magnitude and timing can pressure sentiment and share price. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on RCL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, December 26th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.29.

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.