Nordea Investment Management AB Acquires 750,723 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 135.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,306,784 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 750,723 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.48% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $366,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of RCL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 40.8% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 20,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,297,000 after buying an additional 6,063 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.8% in the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,865,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 773,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,351,000 after acquiring an additional 53,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 3.5%

RCL opened at $262.45 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $301.51 and a 200-day moving average of $297.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 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. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 38.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total transaction of $453,144.30. Following the sale, the director owned 12,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,203,935.82. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total value of $76,475,593.04. Following the sale, the director owned 16,435,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,120,443,401.40. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 over the last three months. 6.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on RCL shares. Mizuho set a $379.00 price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.52.

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.