Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. Acquires Shares of 2,671 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $864,000. Royal Caribbean Cruises comprises approximately 0.2% of Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,728,810,000 after buying an additional 461,990 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,492,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,293,302,000 after acquiring an additional 330,770 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,667,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,877,000 after acquiring an additional 415,230 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,317,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,997,000 after purchasing an additional 284,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,021,893,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $319.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.15. The company has a market capitalization of $86.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.91.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on RCL. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.29.

Key Stories Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board upgrade: Royal Caribbean appointed Christopher J. Wiernicki (former Chairman & CEO of American Bureau of Shipping) to its board, which adds industry regulatory and maritime expertise that could benefit long‑term operations and safety/governance oversight. Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/media attention: Forbes published a take weighing RCL as potentially undervalued given growth, cash flow and margins, while Zacks highlighted increased investor attention and momentum scores — coverage that can attract buyers but is not a near‑term catalyst by itself. Forbes Article Zacks Article
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 180,000 shares on Feb. 17 (~$58.5M) and 100,000 shares on Feb. 13 (~$32.7M). Massive sales by a director can put downward pressure on the stock and raise short‑term concern about insider conviction. Wilhelmsen SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider disposals — Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares (~$2.56M) and director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares (~$453k) on Feb. 17. Multiple insider sales in the same window amplify selling signal to the market. Bethge SEC Filing Gomez Montiel SEC Filing

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 51,131 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.39, for a total value of $16,739,778.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 28,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,204,897.24. The trade was a 64.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.82, for a total value of $26,145,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 58,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,990,856.56. This represents a 57.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 515,722 shares of company stock worth $168,242,004. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

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.