Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Stock: M&G PLC Lowers Holdings

M&G PLC trimmed its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 174,736 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,653 shares during the period. M&G PLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $46,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of RCL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,549,422,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,689,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,409,971,000 after purchasing an additional 270,930 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 85.7% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,835,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,285,464,000 after purchasing an additional 2,231,864 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth about $669,804,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at approximately $597,350,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arne Wilhelmsen sold 220,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.29, for a total value of $72,443,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,215,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,339,737,003.90. The trade was a 1.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Maritza Montiel sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.21, for a total value of $122,884.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,055,786.42. The trade was a 2.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 250,400 shares of company stock valued at $82,263,584. Corporate insiders own 6.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $410.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $297.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $355.00 price objective (down from $380.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $358.00 to $361.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $337.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $355.62.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $337.18 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $276.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.22. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $222.22 and a 52-week high of $356.39. The company has a market capitalization of $90.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.88.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $6.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.38 by $0.19. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.78% and a return on equity of 43.40%. The company had revenue of $5.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.75 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Profile

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.