Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Shares Newly Bought by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,740,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RCL. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $321,332,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 293,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,261,000 after purchasing an additional 14,018 shares during the period. Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth $3,586,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth $650,000. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter worth $18,080,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 6.6%

Shares of RCL stock opened at $333.93 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $273.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.88. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $222.22 and a fifty-two week high of $356.39.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $6.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.38 by $0.19. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.78% and a return on equity of 43.40%. The business had revenue of $5.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 17th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 35.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Maritza Montiel sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.21, for a total transaction of $122,884.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,055,786.42. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on RCL shares. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Monday, September 28th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $330.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Bank of America raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 target price (down from $380.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $345.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $355.62.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., doing business as Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL), is a global cruise company that operates vacation cruises and related travel experiences. Its fleet visits destinations across the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska, Asia, Australia, and other regions, with itineraries that typically include onboard entertainment, dining, accommodations, recreational activities, and shore excursions.

The company’s principal brands include Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises.