First Trust Advisors LP Sells 27,225 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 21.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,214 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,225 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $30,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Roberts Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 1st quarter worth approximately $572,000. Shellback Capital LP raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 53.8% during the first quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 200,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,088,000 after acquiring an additional 70,000 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter valued at $522,000. Marion Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter valued at $291,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% in the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 137,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,802,000 after acquiring an additional 8,121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $260.33 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $280.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $303.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $70.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 0.75 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.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $5.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.07. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 44.68%. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.580-15.630 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.740-2.790 EPS. Analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total transaction of $309,936.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,234 shares in the company, valued at $4,010,571.84. The trade was a 7.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on RCL. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $334.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Susquehanna set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $367.00 to $357.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.45.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.