NEOS Investment Management LLC Acquires 9,549 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 55.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,807 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,549 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $8,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RCL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,728,810,000 after acquiring an additional 461,990 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,492,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,293,302,000 after purchasing an additional 330,770 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,667,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,877,000 after purchasing an additional 415,230 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,317,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,997,000 after purchasing an additional 284,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth about $1,021,893,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on RCL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price target 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 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 51,131 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.39, for a total value of $16,739,778.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 28,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,204,897.24. This represents a 64.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total value of $29,710,297.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 226,483 shares of company stock valued at $74,052,607. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE RCL opened at $323.27 on Wednesday. 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 52 week low of $164.01 and a 52 week high of $366.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $299.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $303.03.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.