EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. Takes Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1,135.7% during the third quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,768,000 after buying an additional 5,020 shares in the last quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth $1,090,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 31.9% in the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 1,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 72.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 459,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,708,000 after acquiring an additional 26,553 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho set a $379.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Key Headlines Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

• Positive Sentiment: RCL received high growth-factor grades among S&P consumer discretionary names, highlighting stronger fundamental/growth metrics versus peers — a favorable signal for growth-oriented investors and quant funds. Royal Caribbean Cruises tops growth factor grades among S&P Consumer Discretionary holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary (Zacks) profiles RCL as a strong growth stock, reinforcing the buy-side narrative around earnings recovery and multi-year demand trends — this can attract momentum and fundamental buyers. Here’s Why Royal Caribbean (RCL) is a Strong Growth Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Celebrity Cruises (part of RCL) announced an expanded river-cruise destination program aimed at premium experiences — a product upgrade that can support higher yields, ancillary revenue and brand differentiation over time. CELEBRITY CRUISES IS REDEFINING RIVER TRAVEL WITH THE INDUSTRY’S MOST EXTENSIVE AND EXPERIENTIAL DESTINATION EXPERIENCES
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock finished higher today despite a weak market session, suggesting selective investor buying in RCL versus broader indices; this reflects short-term positioning more than a clear catalyst. Royal Caribbean (RCL) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Royal Caribbean is experimenting with novel onboard entertainment (a talent show at sea) intended to support valuation via engagement/ancillary spend — interesting for marketing/branding but the financial impact is uncertain. Royal Caribbean Bets On Talent Show At Sea To Support Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Oil-price volatility and geopolitical risk drove a sector selloff earlier this week, triggering a sharp intraday drop in RCL shares — higher fuel costs are a direct margin risk for cruise operators and amplified the pullback. Royal Caribbean Plunges 6% as Oil Shock Torpedoes Cruise Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Macro headlines (oil spike after Iran-related escalation) pressured broader markets and consumer-exposed sectors, keeping downside risk for RCL until energy/geopolitical volatility cools. Nasdaq leads Wall St lower as oil prices spike on Iran revenge strikes

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $272.44 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $164.01 and a 12-month high of $366.50. The company has a market capitalization of $73.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $304.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $300.20.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total transaction of $76,475,593.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,435,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,120,443,401.40. This trade represents a 1.47% 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 hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total transaction of $2,562,053.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,695,121.06. This trade represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 in the last three months. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.