Laura Bethge Sells 7,854 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) insider Laura Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,695,121.06. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $310.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $301.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $303.20. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $164.01 and a 52-week high of $366.50. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 433,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,595,000 after buying an additional 43,184 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,806,000. Marion Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at about $291,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.4% in the second quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 180,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,539,000 after acquiring an additional 12,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 253.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 556,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,241,000 after acquiring an additional 398,849 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on RCL shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.29.

Key Stories Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Solid fundamentals: RCL reported Q4 EPS that met estimates, posted strong margins and record net income for the year; the board boosted the quarterly dividend and authorized a $2.0B buyback — supports longer‑term shareholder value. MarketBeat RCL
• Positive Sentiment: Governance/industry expertise added: appointment of Christopher J. Wiernicki to the board increases maritime and regulatory experience, which could help operations and risk oversight. Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/media attention is favorable overall — most sell‑side analysts remain constructive with an average price target above current levels, and outlets are debating whether RCL is undervalued or fairly priced. Forbes Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership and recent YTD performance remain supportive (high institutional ownership and positive YTD returns), which can limit downside if fundamentals stay intact. MarketBeat institutional
• Negative Sentiment: Rising oil: crude near multi‑month highs raises the risk of higher unhedged fuel costs — with RCL’s notable debt load, a sustained oil move can compress margins, cash flow and valuation multiples. Benzinga oil article
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling: directors executed sizable sales over the past week (notably Arne A. Wilhelmsen’s 180k and 100k share filings and other director disposals), which markets often view as a negative signal for near‑term sentiment. Wilhelmsen SEC Filing Benzinga sale summary
• Negative Sentiment: Additional smaller director sales (Laura Bethge, Maritza Gomez Montiel) amplify the impression of insider disposition in the same window. Bethge SEC Filing Gomez Montiel SEC Filing

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.