Insider Selling: Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Director Sells 220,000 Shares of Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Director Arne Wilhelmsen sold 220,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.29, for a total value of $72,443,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,215,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,339,737,003.90. This represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Thursday, November 5th, Arne Wilhelmsen sold 30,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.23, for a total value of $9,696,900.00.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL stock traded up $4.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $326.86. 1,534,320 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,536,915. The company has a market cap of $87.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $274.39 and its 200 day moving average is $287.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.19. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $222.22 and a 12-month high of $356.39.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $6.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.38 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.61 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 43.40% and a net margin of 23.78%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.75 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.94 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on RCL. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $337.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $362.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $355.62.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 48.8% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 351,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,491,000 after buying an additional 115,369 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.1% in the third quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 33,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,924,000 after buying an additional 1,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.8% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 2,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Group, formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., is a global cruise vacation company. Its brands include Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises, which offer voyages ranging from large-ship family vacations to premium and luxury experiences.

The company serves travelers through itineraries to destinations around the world, including the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska and Asia. Its vacation offerings combine onboard accommodations, dining and entertainment with shore excursions and visits to ports and private destinations.

Founded in 1968, the company is headquartered in Miami, Florida.