ABN Amro Investment Solutions Takes Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

ABN Amro Investment Solutions purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $918,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% in 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 grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Michael W. Bayley sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.82, for a total value of $26,145,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 58,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,990,856.56. This represents a 57.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 4,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.99, for a total value of $1,456,931.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,301,875.33. This represents a 30.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 226,483 shares of company stock valued at $74,052,607 in the last ninety days. 6.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on RCL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 4.1%

RCL opened at $319.26 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $298.03 and a 200-day moving average of $302.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50.

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

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 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.