Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Reduces Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 132,122 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,042 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $42,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth $1,021,893,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,604,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,270,252,000 after acquiring an additional 929,414 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 163.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,101,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,515,000 after acquiring an additional 683,896 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 560.9% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 676,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,949,000 after acquiring an additional 574,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth $172,488,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL opened at $272.44 on Monday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $304.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.78. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The firm has a market cap of $73.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.87.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Stories Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

• Positive Sentiment: RCL received high growth-factor grades among S&P consumer discretionary names, highlighting stronger fundamental/growth metrics versus peers — a favorable signal for growth-oriented investors and quant funds. Royal Caribbean Cruises tops growth factor grades among S&P Consumer Discretionary holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary (Zacks) profiles RCL as a strong growth stock, reinforcing the buy-side narrative around earnings recovery and multi-year demand trends — this can attract momentum and fundamental buyers. Here’s Why Royal Caribbean (RCL) is a Strong Growth Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Celebrity Cruises (part of RCL) announced an expanded river-cruise destination program aimed at premium experiences — a product upgrade that can support higher yields, ancillary revenue and brand differentiation over time. CELEBRITY CRUISES IS REDEFINING RIVER TRAVEL WITH THE INDUSTRY’S MOST EXTENSIVE AND EXPERIENTIAL DESTINATION EXPERIENCES
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock finished higher today despite a weak market session, suggesting selective investor buying in RCL versus broader indices; this reflects short-term positioning more than a clear catalyst. Royal Caribbean (RCL) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Royal Caribbean is experimenting with novel onboard entertainment (a talent show at sea) intended to support valuation via engagement/ancillary spend — interesting for marketing/branding but the financial impact is uncertain. Royal Caribbean Bets On Talent Show At Sea To Support Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Oil-price volatility and geopolitical risk drove a sector selloff earlier this week, triggering a sharp intraday drop in RCL shares — higher fuel costs are a direct margin risk for cruise operators and amplified the pullback. Royal Caribbean Plunges 6% as Oil Shock Torpedoes Cruise Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Macro headlines (oil spike after Iran-related escalation) pressured broader markets and consumer-exposed sectors, keeping downside risk for RCL until energy/geopolitical volatility cools. Nasdaq leads Wall St lower as oil prices spike on Iran revenge strikes

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RCL. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, December 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.