State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $29.19 Million Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 3.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 90,195 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,144 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $29,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 433,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,595,000 after buying an additional 43,184 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,806,000. Marion Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $291,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 180,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,539,000 after acquiring an additional 12,475 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 398,849 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on RCL. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Susquehanna set a $350.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE RCL opened at $319.26 on Monday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $296.69 and a 200-day moving average of $302.95. 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 firm 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.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.82, for a total transaction of $26,145,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 58,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,990,856.56. This represents a 57.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 51,131 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.39, for a total value of $16,739,778.09. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 28,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,204,897.24. The trade was a 64.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 226,483 shares of company stock worth $74,052,607. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 2025 results showed solid demand and margin recovery — revenue and EPS rose ~13% and ~36% year‑over‑year, operating profit jumped ~49%, and operating cash generation improved. These fundamentals support analyst bullishness and longer‑term earnings upgrades. RCL Q4 2025 Earnings (QuiverQuant)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains constructive: broker consensus is around a “Moderate Buy” and many firms maintain buy/overweight ratings with price targets well above current levels — a tailwind for the stock if sentiment persists. Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy (AmericanBankingNews)
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research nudged near‑term EPS estimates slightly higher for Q1 and Q2, signaling some upward revision to the company’s short‑term earnings outlook. (These are modest changes but supportive.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also published longer‑range projections (FY2027/FY2028) that are mixed — a small cut to FY2027 was offset by higher FY2028 expectations — leaving medium‑term consensus roughly intact.
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Caribbean priced $2.5 billion of senior unsecured notes ($1.25B due 2033 at 4.75% and $1.25B due 2038 at 5.25%). The deal increases debt and fixed interest obligations, which can pressure the stock, especially given already elevated capex and leverage metrics. Pricing of Senior Unsecured Notes (PR Newswire) Royal Caribbean Issues $2.5 Billion in Senior Notes (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: High near‑term capital spending: management’s reported capex jumped materially in Q4, and Quiver data shows insider sales in recent months — both factors can worry investors about future free cash flow and signal reduced insider conviction. Capex & Insider Activity (QuiverQuant)

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.