Czech National Bank Increases Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 66,876 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,718 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $18,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Avanza Fonder AB increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 19,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,530,000 after buying an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $690,000. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 5,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 in the company, valued at $5,120,443,401.40. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $353.30.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $273.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $300.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.30. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The firm has a market cap of $74.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.44%.

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.