Michael Bayley Sells 80,000 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) CEO Michael Bayley sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.82, for a total transaction of $26,145,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 58,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,990,856.56. The trade was a 57.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $319.26 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $164.01 and a 52-week high of $366.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18.

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

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RCL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 433,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,595,000 after buying an additional 43,184 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth approximately $4,806,000. Marion Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.4% in the second quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 180,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,539,000 after purchasing an additional 12,475 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 253.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 556,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,241,000 after purchasing an additional 398,849 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 2025 results showed solid demand and margin recovery — revenue and EPS rose ~13% and ~36% year‑over‑year, operating profit jumped ~49%, and operating cash generation improved. These fundamentals support analyst bullishness and longer‑term earnings upgrades. RCL Q4 2025 Earnings (QuiverQuant)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains constructive: broker consensus is around a “Moderate Buy” and many firms maintain buy/overweight ratings with price targets well above current levels — a tailwind for the stock if sentiment persists. Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy (AmericanBankingNews)
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research nudged near‑term EPS estimates slightly higher for Q1 and Q2, signaling some upward revision to the company’s short‑term earnings outlook. (These are modest changes but supportive.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also published longer‑range projections (FY2027/FY2028) that are mixed — a small cut to FY2027 was offset by higher FY2028 expectations — leaving medium‑term consensus roughly intact.
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Caribbean priced $2.5 billion of senior unsecured notes ($1.25B due 2033 at 4.75% and $1.25B due 2038 at 5.25%). The deal increases debt and fixed interest obligations, which can pressure the stock, especially given already elevated capex and leverage metrics. Pricing of Senior Unsecured Notes (PR Newswire) Royal Caribbean Issues $2.5 Billion in Senior Notes (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: High near‑term capital spending: management’s reported capex jumped materially in Q4, and Quiver data shows insider sales in recent months — both factors can worry investors about future free cash flow and signal reduced insider conviction. Capex & Insider Activity (QuiverQuant)

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.