TD Asset Management Inc Raises Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 560.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 676,645 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 574,256 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $218,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 433,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,595,000 after purchasing an additional 43,184 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,806,000. Marion Wealth Management acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter valued at $291,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,728,810,000 after buying an additional 461,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 253.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 556,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,241,000 after buying an additional 398,849 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Susquehanna set a $350.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was 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 directly owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at $71,513,217.82. The trade was a 29.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.82, for a total value of $26,145,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 58,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,990,856.56. This trade represents a 57.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,195,712 shares of company stock valued at $383,111,652. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $317.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $303.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $303.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $85.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $164.01 and a 1 year high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often 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.