KBC Group NV Grows Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,468 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,435 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $37,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 1st quarter valued at about $358,614,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,674,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,890,943,000 after acquiring an additional 602,447 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7,971.4% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 540,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,165,000 after purchasing an additional 533,529 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 179.2% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 645,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,550,000 after purchasing an additional 414,100 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 112.9% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 566,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,396,000 after purchasing an additional 300,232 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $263.38 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $310.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $300.60. The firm has a market cap of $71.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 2.04. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $164.01 and a one year high of $366.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.16.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $5.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.68 by $0.07. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 44.68% and a net margin of 23.33%.The business had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.20 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.580-15.630 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 2.740-2.790 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 25th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 25th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.04, for a total transaction of $3,399,412.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,414,966.28. This represents a 38.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total transaction of $309,936.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,010,571.84. This represents a 7.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RCL. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $372.00 to $362.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Susquehanna set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $405.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $399.00 to $336.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.64.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.