Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Shares Purchased by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 11.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 213,370 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,317 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.08% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $69,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. GGM Financials LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 318.8% during the third quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho set a $379.00 price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $266.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $72.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $304.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $301.07. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $164.01 and a one year high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 company had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.44%.

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.