Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Stock Holdings Lifted by Silvant Capital Management LLC

Silvant Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 275,345 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,443 shares during the period. Royal Caribbean Cruises accounts for about 3.2% of Silvant Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Silvant Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $89,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.7% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 8,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,629,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 122.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Sarl grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 304,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,685,000 after acquiring an additional 15,313 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Inc. CA increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 587,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,028,000 after purchasing an additional 28,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 32,949,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,662,989,000 after purchasing an additional 308,330 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Mizuho set a $379.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total value of $453,144.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,203,935.82. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total value of $76,475,593.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,435,910 shares in the company, valued at $5,120,443,401.40. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 over the last three months. 6.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $284.97 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $164.01 and a 1 year high of $366.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $304.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $301.42. The company has a market cap of $77.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.