Park Avenue Securities LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Park Avenue Securities LLC cut its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,306 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,107 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $3,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 32,949,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,662,989,000 after purchasing an additional 308,330 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% in 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,576,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,433,052,000 after buying an additional 84,202 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,317,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,997,000 after buying an additional 284,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,021,893,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on 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. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho set a $379.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total value of $453,144.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,203,935.82. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total transaction of $2,562,053.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,786 shares in the company, valued at $10,695,121.06. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $262.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.87. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $301.51 and its 200 day moving average is $296.70.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 2.3%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding 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 board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.