WINTON GROUP Ltd Increases Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 1,231.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,173 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,658 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $6,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. GGM Financials LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 318.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $278.32 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $304.23 and its 200 day moving average is $302.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $164.01 and a 1 year high of $366.50. The firm has a market capitalization 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 (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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 paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total transaction of $76,475,593.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,435,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,120,443,401.40. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total transaction of $2,562,053.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on RCL shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, December 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.