Assetmark Inc. Buys 290,880 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 234.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 414,894 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 290,880 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $134,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 85.2% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE RCL opened at $332.78 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 current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $295.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $303.60. The stock has a market cap of $90.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.91.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

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.