Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Holdings Increased by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 29.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,332 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 40.8% in 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth $1,762,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter worth $357,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 12,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.99, for a total value of $4,048,147.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 45,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,313,399.03. This trade represents a 22.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 6.44% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $307.90 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.77. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $232.10 and a 1 year high of $366.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $302.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.90.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $4.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.23. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 43.33% and a net margin of 23.54%.The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.730-17.870 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 6.260-6.360 EPS. Analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on RCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $410.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $318.00 to $297.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $350.00 to $337.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $304.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $353.40.

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.