Allianz SE Grows Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Allianz SE boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 928.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,860 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,540 shares during the quarter. Allianz SE’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $7,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. GGM Financials LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 318.8% during the third quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, December 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. This represents a 29.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total value of $113,355,118.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $310.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $304.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.36. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $164.01 and a one year 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 released 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 net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued 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 yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Stories Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company expansion push — coverage highlights Royal Caribbean’s aggressive growth and fleet/itinerary expansion plans that back continued demand recovery and revenue upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Luxury brand development — Silversea unveiled public spaces for The Cormorant at 55 South, a new hotel supporting Antarctic fly‑cruise packages, strengthening the company’s premium/expedition revenue mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Completed $2.5B senior notes offering — RCL issued $1.25B of 4.75% notes due 2033 and $1.25B of 5.25% notes due 2038. The deal boosts liquidity and funds financing needs but increases long‑term debt and interest expense. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 771,607 shares across Feb 25–27 for roughly $243.6M in proceeds (three Form 4 filings). While the sales are a small percentage of his total holdings, the magnitude and timing can pressure sentiment and share price. Read More.

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.