American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,224,924 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 137,264 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $396,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,728,810,000 after acquiring an additional 461,990 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,492,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,293,302,000 after acquiring an additional 330,770 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,667,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,877,000 after buying an additional 415,230 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,317,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,997,000 after purchasing an additional 284,037 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,021,893,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Royal Caribbean Cruises

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company expansion push — coverage highlights Royal Caribbean’s aggressive growth and fleet/itinerary expansion plans that back continued demand recovery and revenue upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Luxury brand development — Silversea unveiled public spaces for The Cormorant at 55 South, a new hotel supporting Antarctic fly‑cruise packages, strengthening the company’s premium/expedition revenue mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Completed $2.5B senior notes offering — RCL issued $1.25B of 4.75% notes due 2033 and $1.25B of 5.25% notes due 2038. The deal boosts liquidity and funds financing needs but increases long‑term debt and interest expense. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 771,607 shares across Feb 25–27 for roughly $243.6M in proceeds (three Form 4 filings). While the sales are a small percentage of his total holdings, the magnitude and timing can pressure sentiment and share price. Read More.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total transaction of $76,475,593.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,435,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,120,443,401.40. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total value of $2,562,053.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,695,121.06. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 over the last quarter. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, December 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 2.6%

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $310.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $304.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $303.36. The company has a market capitalization of $84.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. 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 issued its 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.9%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.