Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Shares Purchased by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 33.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 183,468 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 46,369 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.07% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $58,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% during the second quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.6% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 794 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.1% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 4,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.99, for a total value of $1,456,931.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,301,875.33. The trade was a 30.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 51,131 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.39, for a total value of $16,739,778.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 28,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,204,897.24. The trade was a 64.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 226,483 shares of company stock worth $74,052,607 in the last ninety days. 6.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $319.26 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $164.01 and a 12-month high of $366.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $296.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.95. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

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

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)

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.