Vestcor Inc Has $2.59 Million Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Vestcor Inc boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 47.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,989 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,563 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth about $31,000. GGM Financials LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 318.8% during the third quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 38.1% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total value of $29,710,297.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. This represents a 29.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on RCL shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE RCL opened at $284.97 on Wednesday. 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 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $77.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $304.46 and its 200-day moving average is $301.42.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The business 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 business earned $1.63 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management 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. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.44%.

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.