Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Shares Sold by Dakota Wealth Management

Dakota Wealth Management reduced its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 52.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,131 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,640 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.4% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $318.00 to $327.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $353.30.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $262.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $70.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $294.32. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $164.01 and a 12-month high of $366.50. 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 (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total transaction of $76,475,593.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,435,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,120,443,401.40. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total transaction of $453,144.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,203,935.82. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. Corporate insiders own 6.95% 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.