American Century Companies Inc. Has $396.36 Million Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 12.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,224,924 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 137,264 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $396,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. GGM Financials LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 318.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $310.49 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.36. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $164.01 and a 12 month high of $366.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. 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. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total transaction of $29,710,297.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on RCL. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $379.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.29.

Key Headlines Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company expansion push — coverage highlights Royal Caribbean’s aggressive growth and fleet/itinerary expansion plans that back continued demand recovery and revenue upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Luxury brand development — Silversea unveiled public spaces for The Cormorant at 55 South, a new hotel supporting Antarctic fly‑cruise packages, strengthening the company’s premium/expedition revenue mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Completed $2.5B senior notes offering — RCL issued $1.25B of 4.75% notes due 2033 and $1.25B of 5.25% notes due 2038. The deal boosts liquidity and funds financing needs but increases long‑term debt and interest expense. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 771,607 shares across Feb 25–27 for roughly $243.6M in proceeds (three Form 4 filings). While the sales are a small percentage of his total holdings, the magnitude and timing can pressure sentiment and share price. Read More.

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.