National Pension Service Trims Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

National Pension Service cut its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 926,591 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65,988 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.34% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $290,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Advyzon Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth $74,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at $2,977,000. Compass Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at $18,853,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 48,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,293,000 after acquiring an additional 3,435 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:RCL opened at $263.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 2.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $312.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $300.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.21. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $164.01 and a 12-month high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $5.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.07. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 44.68% and a net margin of 23.33%.The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.580-15.630 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 2.740-2.790 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 25th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 25th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 26.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on RCL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho dropped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $372.00 to $362.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $367.00 to $357.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.86.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.04, for a total transaction of $3,399,412.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,414,966.28. The trade was a 38.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total value of $309,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,010,571.84. This trade represents a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.