Swiss National Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 743,638 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $240,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 433,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,595,000 after buying an additional 43,184 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,806,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,728,810,000 after buying an additional 461,990 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake 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 valued at $179,241,000 after acquiring an additional 398,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,562,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE RCL opened at $290.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $304.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $301.83.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 38.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total value of $29,710,297.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on RCL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.