Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 484.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 501,022 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 415,267 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $162,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth $31,000. GGM Financials LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 318.8% during the third quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total transaction of $453,144.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,849 shares in the company, valued at $4,203,935.82. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total value of $2,562,053.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 32,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,695,121.06. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 over the last 90 days. 6.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RCL. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Mizuho set a $379.00 price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 29th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 7.0%

Shares of RCL opened at $266.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $164.01 and a 12-month high of $366.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $304.37 and its 200 day moving average is $301.07.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’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. Research 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 38.44%.

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.