State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Decreases Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,660 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,535 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $24,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 32,949,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,662,989,000 after buying an additional 308,330 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,253,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,438,292,000 after buying an additional 187,283 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,576,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,433,052,000 after buying an additional 84,202 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,474,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,785,000 after buying an additional 65,714 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,416,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,221,000 after buying an additional 62,803 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat on the bottom line — Adjusted EPS came in ahead of consensus ($3.60 vs ~$3.20) and revenue roughly matched estimates, signaling strong demand and better-than-expected operating performance. PR Newswire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Bookings and demand are holding up — Mediterranean itineraries have bounced back despite regional tensions, supporting forward load factors and revenue visibility for peak seasons. TravelPulse: Mediterranean Bookings
• Positive Sentiment: Large shareholder returns — The company returned roughly $1.1 billion in the quarter via ~$836M of buybacks and $270M of dividends, which supports EPS and investor sentiment. PR Newswire: Share Repurchases
• Neutral Sentiment: Updated FY and Q2 guidance — Management set FY 2026 adjusted EPS at $17.10–$17.50 and Q2 EPS at $3.83–$3.93; the FY range sits near analyst expectations but the Q2 range is below some consensus estimates. That mixed guidance is why some outlets describe the outlook as an “update” rather than a straight upgrade. PR Newswire: Guidance Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation perspective — Some analysts note the stock looks fairly priced after the move higher, so future gains may depend on execution against guidance and fuel trends. Motley Fool: Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Rising fuel costs are a clear headwind — Management and multiple outlets flagged higher fuel prices from Middle East tensions as the main near?term earnings drag; the company trimmed its prior internal range to reflect those costs. Reuters: Fuel Costs / Forecast Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 pressure and itinerary changes — Management noted repositioning of ships away from higher?risk areas and said fuel was the most notable near?term financial impact, raising the risk of softer near?term margins. Earnings Call Transcript

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total transaction of $76,475,593.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,435,910 shares in the company, valued at $5,120,443,401.40. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 in the last 90 days. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on RCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $318.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $352.89.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $264.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.93. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $217.42 and a 12 month high of $366.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $279.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.830-3.930 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.100-17.500 EPS. Analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.35 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 is 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.