Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 21.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,325 shares during the quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $7,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of RCL. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. GGM Financials LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total transaction of $2,562,053.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,695,121.06. The trade was a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total value of $76,475,593.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,435,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,120,443,401.40. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $310.49 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $304.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $303.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $164.01 and a twelve month high of $366.50. The company has a market cap of $84.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board 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 is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company expansion push — coverage highlights Royal Caribbean’s aggressive growth and fleet/itinerary expansion plans that back continued demand recovery and revenue upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Luxury brand development — Silversea unveiled public spaces for The Cormorant at 55 South, a new hotel supporting Antarctic fly‑cruise packages, strengthening the company’s premium/expedition revenue mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Completed $2.5B senior notes offering — RCL issued $1.25B of 4.75% notes due 2033 and $1.25B of 5.25% notes due 2038. The deal boosts liquidity and funds financing needs but increases long‑term debt and interest expense. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 771,607 shares across Feb 25–27 for roughly $243.6M in proceeds (three Form 4 filings). While the sales are a small percentage of his total holdings, the magnitude and timing can pressure sentiment and share price. Read More.

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.