Sherman Porfolios LLC Invests $808,000 in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Sherman Porfolios LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $808,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RCL. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth about $31,000. GGM Financials LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $269.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $303.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.38. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $164.01 and a 52-week high of $366.50.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RCL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 transaction, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total transaction of $29,710,297.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,513,217.82. The trade was a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.