Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 3.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 381,381 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,980 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $123,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 40.8% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 20,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,297,000 after buying an additional 6,063 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.0% during the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $319.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $164.01 and a 52 week high of $366.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $304.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $303.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.91.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.62%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 345,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.73, for a total value of $108,961,896.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,207,517 shares in the company, valued at $5,432,929,342.41. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 80,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.82, for a total value of $26,145,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 58,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders sold 1,195,712 shares of company stock valued at $383,111,652. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on RCL. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, December 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

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.