Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 3,269 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 188,115 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,269 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $60,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 794 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.5% in the third quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $868,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on RCL shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial reduced 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. Citigroup increased 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. Mizuho set a $379.00 price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at $71,513,217.82. The trade was a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total value of $113,355,118.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 4.6%

RCL opened at $290.96 on Tuesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87. 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 50-day moving average price of $304.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $301.83.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The company 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 business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership 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.