Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Boosts Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 32.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,967 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,185 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 130,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,284,000 after buying an additional 6,641 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Golden State Equity Partners increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 190.0% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 96,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,894,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 32,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,695,121.06. This trade represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 16,435,910 shares in the company, valued at $5,120,443,401.40. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $330.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $361.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $352.89.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:RCL opened at $253.17 on Thursday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $280.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.96.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.