Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,870,895 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,327 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $605,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,728,810,000 after purchasing an additional 461,990 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,492,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,293,302,000 after buying an additional 330,770 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,667,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,877,000 after buying an additional 415,230 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,317,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,997,000 after acquiring an additional 284,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,021,893,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

• Positive Sentiment: Celebrity Cruises relaunched the Celebrity Solstice after a major revitalization (four new spaces, eight new experiences). This refresh broadens Celebrity’s premium offering and supports pricing/occupancy upside for RCL’s Celebrity brand as the ship heads to Alaska for summer sailings. PR Newswire: Celebrity Solstice Relaunch
• Neutral Sentiment: Disclosure shows Accuvest Global Advisors reduced its RCL stake significantly (sold 1,919 shares, leaving 799). Position size appears small in absolute terms and is unlikely to materially affect the stock by itself, but it is a routine institutional trimming to monitor. DefenseWorld: Accuvest Reduces Holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around peers (e.g., Jim Cramer highlighting Norwegian Cruise Line as a possible strategic target) keeps the sector in focus; competitor-specific M&A chatter can shift sentiment but doesn’t directly change RCL fundamentals. Investors should watch peer results and activist activity for potential industry re-rating. Yahoo Finance: Jim Cramer on Norwegian
• Negative Sentiment: Escalation of the Iran/Israel conflict is pressuring travel stocks broadly. Reports note higher fuel and insurance costs and possible shipping interruptions, which have prompted sell-offs in cruise operators including RCL (sector weakness cited across market coverage). This geopolitical risk is the primary near-term negative catalyst for the stock. Benzinga: Cruise Lines Tumble Investopedia: Stocks Affected by War Yahoo Finance: Cruise Stocks Sink Barron’s: Travel Stocks Hurt by Iran Tensions

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE RCL opened at $301.44 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $304.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $303.05. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $164.01 and a 52 week high of $366.50. 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 capitalization of $81.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.87.

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. 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 analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued 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 2.0%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 25.62%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on RCL shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total value of $29,710,297.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. The trade was a 29.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.