Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Shares Purchased by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 266.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,029 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,568 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.6% in the third quarter. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC now owns 27,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,853,000 after buying an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $868,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $91,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $653,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total transaction of $309,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,234 shares of the company’s stock, 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $294.65 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 cap of $80.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $275.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.71.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $5.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.16 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 44.68% and a net margin of 23.33%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.20 earnings per share. 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. Equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $372.00 to $362.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 20th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $342.00 to $324.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.82.

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.