ABN Amro Investment Solutions Purchases New Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

ABN Amro Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $918,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 20,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,297,000 after acquiring an additional 6,063 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.4% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 954 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth $287,000. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 30.9% during the second quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 7,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. The trade was a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.82, for a total value of $26,145,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 58,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,990,856.56. The trade was a 57.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 226,483 shares of company stock worth $74,052,607. 6.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 4.1%

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $319.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $86.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $298.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.97. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $164.01 and a 52 week high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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 issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. 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 dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on RCL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Susquehanna set a $350.00 price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.29.

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.