Silvant Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Silvant Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 275,345 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,443 shares during the quarter. Royal Caribbean Cruises accounts for approximately 3.2% of Silvant Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Silvant Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $89,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth about $31,000. GGM Financials LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE RCL opened at $284.97 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $304.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $301.42. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $164.01 and a one year high of $366.50. The firm has a market cap of $77.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.87. 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 (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, December 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at $71,513,217.82. This represents a 29.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 over the last ninety days. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.