Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen Sells 101,902 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 101,902 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.09, for a total transaction of $31,802,595.18. Following the sale, the director owned 17,681,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,518,083,575.85. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 18th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 104,540 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.64, for a total transaction of $33,624,245.60.
• On Tuesday, February 17th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 180,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.09, for a total transaction of $58,516,200.00.
• On Friday, February 13th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 100,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.58, for a total transaction of $32,658,000.00.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of RCL opened at $315.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $85.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $164.01 and a one year high of $366.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $302.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.14. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.50 (annualized $6.00); ex‑dividend/record/pay dates disclosed — a cash return boost that supports shareholder sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Board-authorized $2.0 billion share buyback program—management signaling conviction in long‑term value, which can support the stock and EPS. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Board upgrade — appointment of Christopher J. Wiernicki adds maritime/regulatory expertise that could improve governance and operational oversight. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive: several firms have raised targets or reiterated buys (consensus price target near $348), which can attract investor interest but is not an immediate catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive media/momentum stories (Zacks, FXEmpire) highlight RCL as a long‑term value/flow beneficiary — may support continued inflows but not a near‑term driver by itself. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large, repeated insider selling by director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen across Feb. 13–19 (multiple transactions totaling hundreds of thousands of shares, tens of millions of dollars) — a clear short‑term negative signal that has pressured the stock. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider disposals (Laura H. Bethge, Maritza Gomez Montiel) in the same window amplify the selling signal and raise near‑term concern about insider conviction. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Rising crude / fuel costs: coverage flags that oil near multi‑month highs can hit margins quickly for cruise operators (especially with notable leverage), creating downside risk to earnings and multiples. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on RCL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Susquehanna set a $350.00 price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Cambient Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth $208,000. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 187.8% in the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 11,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,102,000 after buying an additional 7,257 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 252.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 173,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,276,000 after buying an additional 123,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 896.6% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 87,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,461,000 after buying an additional 78,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

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.