Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Shares Sold by Capital Research Global Investors

Capital Research Global Investors lowered its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 25.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,256,502 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,611,624 shares during the quarter. Royal Caribbean Cruises comprises 1.2% of Capital Research Global Investors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 7.06% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $6,231,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,021,893,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,604,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,270,252,000 after buying an additional 929,414 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 560.9% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 676,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,949,000 after buying an additional 574,256 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter valued at $172,488,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 91.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,087,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,590,000 after buying an additional 520,353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total transaction of $453,144.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,203,935.82. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $10,695,121.06. This trade represents a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $290.96 on Tuesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $78.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $304.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $301.83.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for 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. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho set a $379.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One equities 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, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.