Aberdeen Group plc Grows Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. by 106.1% in the first quarter, now owning 128,978 shares valued at approximately $26.17 million.
• Insider trading saw significant activity with CAO Henry L. Pujol selling 5,207 shares and Director Richard D. Fain selling 16,000 shares, representing declines of 39.95% and 9.62% in their respective holdings.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Royal Caribbean, with UBS Group and Barclays increasing their targets to $353.00 and $358.00, respectively, reflecting strong market confidence and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 106.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,978 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 66,391 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $26,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of RCL. Ostrum Asset Management grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Ostrum Asset Management now owns 11,610 shares of the company's stock worth $2,678,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.4% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,816 shares of the company's stock worth $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.4% during the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the company's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.5% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.1% during the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.47, for a total transaction of $1,715,550.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,578,432.22. This represents a 39.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.02, for a total transaction of $4,976,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 150,291 shares in the company, valued at $46,743,506.82. This trade represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,507 shares of company stock valued at $10,091,282. 6.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $263.00 to $358.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $390.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $323.10.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL stock traded down $1.2190 on Wednesday, hitting $328.8510. The company had a trading volume of 1,883,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,258,269. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $154.08 and a 12-month high of $355.91. The stock has a market cap of $89.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 2.22. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $315.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $259.40.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.04 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 47.15%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.21 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.410-15.550 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 5.550-5.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.