Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Holdings Lowered by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 21.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,214 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,225 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $30,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth approximately $804,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,317,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,997,000 after buying an additional 284,037 shares in the last quarter. Trek Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.6% in the second quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 1,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter valued at about $172,488,000. Finally, JT Stratford LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth about $499,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total transaction of $309,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,010,571.84. This trade represents a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on RCL shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, October 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays decreased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $358.00 to $342.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $367.00 to $357.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.45.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $260.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $70.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $280.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.82. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $164.01 and a twelve month high of $366.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $5.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.68 by $0.07. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 44.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.580-15.630 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.740-2.790 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 26.90%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.