Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen Sells 19,140 Shares

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 19,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.30, for a total value of $6,073,122.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,552,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,569,448,864.40. The trade was a 0.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 24th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 345,111 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.73, for a total transaction of $108,961,896.03.
• On Friday, February 20th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 109,297 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.81, for a total transaction of $34,407,788.57.
• On Thursday, February 19th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 101,902 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.09, for a total transaction of $31,802,595.18.
• On Wednesday, February 18th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 104,540 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.64, for a total transaction of $33,624,245.60.
• On Tuesday, February 17th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 180,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.09, for a total transaction of $58,516,200.00.
• On Friday, February 13th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 100,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.58, for a total transaction of $32,658,000.00.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 4.8%

RCL stock opened at $317.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $85.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.91. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $303.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.12. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. 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%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on RCL shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.29.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,165,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,088,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,215,382 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,253,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,438,292,000 after purchasing an additional 187,283 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,176,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,627,669,000 after buying an additional 920,042 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,576,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,433,052,000 after buying an additional 84,202 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,054,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,961,758,000 after buying an additional 155,491 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Technical/bullish coverage: RCL recently printed a “golden cross” technical signal (50-day moving average crossing above the 200-day), which often attracts momentum buyers. Golden Cross Signal
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals/optimistic narratives: recent write-ups highlight strong revenue trends, fleet-expansion plans and long-term growth potential — headlines positioning RCL as a top growth name have likely supported buying interest. MarketBeat: Cruising Toward a New High
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal/industry event: the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear cases on compensation related to Cuba seizures that could affect maritime operators; this is longer-term legal uncertainty rather than an immediate earnings-shock. Supreme Court / Cuba Cases
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling: Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold multiple blocks of shares this week (three Form 4 disclosures show combined sales of roughly 473,548 shares, representing tens of millions of dollars), which can be perceived as a negative signal to some investors. Filing: SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Options-market activity: unusually large put buying was reported (about 17,883 put contracts, ~116% above average), which signals increased downside hedging or speculative bearish bets and may pressure sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/tourism disruption: cruise lines canceled Puerto Vallarta calls after violence in Mexico, forcing reroutes and potential incremental costs or customer accommodations—near-term itinerary disruption risk for the sector. Cruise Cancellations
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/trade risk: afternoon weakness in several travel and consumer names followed new global tariff comments from the administration, adding trade-policy uncertainty that can weigh on cyclical travel stocks. Tariff/Trade Policy News

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.