Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 48,902 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 93.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,326 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,902 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 85.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 38.1% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total transaction of $2,562,053.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,695,121.06. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 345,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.73, for a total value of $108,961,896.03. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,207,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,432,929,342.41. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,195,712 shares of company stock worth $383,111,652 over the last ninety days. 6.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on RCL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Susquehanna set a $350.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 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, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE:RCL opened at $319.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $164.01 and a twelve month high of $366.50. The company has a market cap of $86.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.91. The company’s 50 day moving average is $304.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.30.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.