Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Director Sells $76,475,593.04 in Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total transaction of $76,475,593.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,435,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,120,443,401.40. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 26th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total value of $113,355,118.14.
• On Wednesday, February 25th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 170,105 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.92, for a total value of $53,739,571.60.
• On Tuesday, February 24th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 345,111 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.73, for a total value of $108,961,896.03.
• On Monday, February 23rd, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 19,140 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.30, for a total value of $6,073,122.00.
• On Friday, February 20th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 109,297 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.81, for a total value of $34,407,788.57.
• On Thursday, February 19th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 101,902 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.09, for a total transaction of $31,802,595.18.
• On Wednesday, February 18th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 104,540 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.64, for a total transaction of $33,624,245.60.
• On Tuesday, February 17th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 180,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.09, for a total transaction of $58,516,200.00.
• On Friday, February 13th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 100,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.58, for a total transaction of $32,658,000.00.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of RCL traded down $8.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $310.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,986,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,416,793. The company has a market cap of $84.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $164.01 and a 52 week high of $366.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $304.26 and a 200 day moving average of $303.30.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 184.4% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Trending Headlines about Royal Caribbean Cruises

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company expansion push — coverage highlights Royal Caribbean’s aggressive growth and fleet/itinerary expansion plans that back continued demand recovery and revenue upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Luxury brand development — Silversea unveiled public spaces for The Cormorant at 55 South, a new hotel supporting Antarctic fly?cruise packages, strengthening the company’s premium/expedition revenue mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Completed $2.5B senior notes offering — RCL issued $1.25B of 4.75% notes due 2033 and $1.25B of 5.25% notes due 2038. The deal boosts liquidity and funds financing needs but increases long?term debt and interest expense. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 771,607 shares across Feb 25–27 for roughly $243.6M in proceeds (three Form 4 filings). While the sales are a small percentage of his total holdings, the magnitude and timing can pressure sentiment and share price. Read More.

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.