Aberdeen Group plc Has $47.71 Million Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,048 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,420 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.06% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $47,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,306,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,925,000 after purchasing an additional 750,723 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 163.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,101,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,515,000 after purchasing an additional 683,896 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 560.9% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 676,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,949,000 after buying an additional 574,256 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 260.9% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 661,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,895,000 after acquiring an additional 477,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,728,810,000 after purchasing an additional 461,990 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $273.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $299.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $292.33. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $164.01 and a twelve month high of $366.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.93.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on RCL shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $318.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $353.30.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 16,681,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 218,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

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.