Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen Sells 104,540 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 104,540 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.64, for a total value of $33,624,245.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,782,967 shares in the company, valued at $5,719,713,505.88. The trade was a 0.58% 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 Thursday, February 19th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 101,902 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.09, for a total transaction of $31,802,595.18.
• On Tuesday, February 17th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 180,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $326.58, for a total transaction of $32,658,000.00.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $315.34 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $302.05 and a 200-day moving average of $303.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market cap of $85.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $164.01 and a twelve month high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 20,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,297,000 after purchasing an additional 6,063 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.6% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 57,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,891,000 after purchasing an additional 8,235 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.5% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 37,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,890,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 151.8% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 3,565 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on RCL. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho set a $379.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Key Royal Caribbean Cruises News

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.

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.