Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Boosts Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 170.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 725,561 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 456,882 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.27% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $234,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,021,893,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,604,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,270,252,000 after purchasing an additional 929,414 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth about $172,488,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7,971.4% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 540,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,165,000 after purchasing an additional 533,529 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 91.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,087,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,590,000 after purchasing an additional 520,353 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $316.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Susquehanna set a $350.00 price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $342.00 to $324.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total value of $309,936.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,010,571.84. The trade was a 7.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $276.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $275.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $306.38. The stock has a market cap of $75.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.14. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $5.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.68 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.16 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 44.68% and a net margin of 23.33%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.20 earnings per share. 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. On average, analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.90%.

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

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.