First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Takes $2.89 Million Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 27.1% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $400.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Susquehanna set a $350.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $378.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.68.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $286.18 on Monday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $277.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.04 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.94.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were paid 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 payout ratio is 26.90%.

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

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total transaction of $309,936.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,010,571.84. This trade represents a 7.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

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.