Mackenzie Financial Corp Increases Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 176,667 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,490 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.06% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $57,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. GGM Financials LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth $38,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 318.8% in the third quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 38.1% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total value of $113,355,118.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction 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 approximately $71,513,217.82. The trade was a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RCL has been the topic of a number of research reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $266.36 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $301.07. 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 twelve month low of $164.01 and a twelve month high of $366.50. The company has a market capitalization of $72.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.87.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

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.