Center For Asset Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Center For Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $875,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 40.8% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 20,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,297,000 after buying an additional 6,063 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15.7% in the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $976,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 54,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,929,000 after buying an additional 3,668 shares during the period. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on RCL shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.52.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $277.94 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $164.01 and a twelve month high of $366.50. The stock has a market cap of $75.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $303.78 and its 200-day moving average is $298.58.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,311,186,488.54. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $29,710,297.10. Following the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 in the last quarter. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.