Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $42.49 Million Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,310 shares of the company’s stock after selling 179,483 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $42,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. GGM Financials LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 318.8% during the third quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 38.1% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 1.7%

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $278.32 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $304.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.26. 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 stock has a market cap of $75.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $164.01 and a twelve month high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on RCL shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.