Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 6,253 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 19.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,123 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,253 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $12,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth $31,000. GGM Financials LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 318.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 85.2% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:RCL opened at $282.70 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 has a market capitalization of $76.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $302.79.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.62%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Mizuho set a $379.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total value of $29,710,297.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares in the company, valued at $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total value of $113,355,118.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.