Bellwether Advisors LLC Sells 12,368 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Bellwether Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 40.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,471 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,368 shares during the period. Royal Caribbean Cruises makes up 1.0% of Bellwether Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Bellwether Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $5,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of RCL. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position 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 worth $135,595,000 after acquiring an additional 43,184 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,806,000. Marion Wealth Management bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,728,810,000 after buying an additional 461,990 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 253.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 556,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,241,000 after acquiring an additional 398,849 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $301.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $304.76 and a 200-day moving average of $303.05. The company has a market cap of $81.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.62%.

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 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Trending Headlines about Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

• Positive Sentiment: Celebrity Cruises relaunched the Celebrity Solstice after a major revitalization (four new spaces, eight new experiences). This refresh broadens Celebrity’s premium offering and supports pricing/occupancy upside for RCL’s Celebrity brand as the ship heads to Alaska for summer sailings. PR Newswire: Celebrity Solstice Relaunch
• Neutral Sentiment: Disclosure shows Accuvest Global Advisors reduced its RCL stake significantly (sold 1,919 shares, leaving 799). Position size appears small in absolute terms and is unlikely to materially affect the stock by itself, but it is a routine institutional trimming to monitor. DefenseWorld: Accuvest Reduces Holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around peers (e.g., Jim Cramer highlighting Norwegian Cruise Line as a possible strategic target) keeps the sector in focus; competitor-specific M&A chatter can shift sentiment but doesn’t directly change RCL fundamentals. Investors should watch peer results and activist activity for potential industry re-rating. Yahoo Finance: Jim Cramer on Norwegian
• Negative Sentiment: Escalation of the Iran/Israel conflict is pressuring travel stocks broadly. Reports note higher fuel and insurance costs and possible shipping interruptions, which have prompted sell-offs in cruise operators including RCL (sector weakness cited across market coverage). This geopolitical risk is the primary near-term negative catalyst for the stock. Benzinga: Cruise Lines Tumble Investopedia: Stocks Affected by War Yahoo Finance: Cruise Stocks Sink Barron’s: Travel Stocks Hurt by Iran Tensions

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, December 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total value of $76,475,593.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,435,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,120,443,401.40. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total value of $453,144.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,203,935.82. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 in the last three months. 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.