Gotham Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 74.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,965 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,672 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $31,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of RCL. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth about $31,000. GGM Financials LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 318.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on RCL. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, December 26th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.52.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. The trade was a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $280.94 on Tuesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $164.01 and a twelve month high of $366.50. 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 company has a market capitalization of $76.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $304.17 and its 200 day moving average is $299.18.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid 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 (DPR) is presently 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 often 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.