Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Increases Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,123 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,253 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $12,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 43,184 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth about $4,806,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 worth $9,728,810,000 after acquiring an additional 461,990 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 253.7% in the third 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 period. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at about $1,562,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total transaction of $453,144.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,849 shares in the company, valued at $4,203,935.82. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total transaction of $76,475,593.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,435,910 shares in the company, valued at $5,120,443,401.40. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 in the last quarter. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RCL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. One equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $282.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $164.01 and a 12-month high of $366.50. The company has a market cap of $76.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $304.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $302.79.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

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.