Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $11.53 Million Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,327 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,865 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $11,527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.4% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.6% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.1% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on RCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $353.30.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $275.09 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $164.01 and a one year high of $366.50. The company has a market cap of $74.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $300.13 and a 200-day moving average of $292.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were 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 owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. This represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 over the last three months. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.