AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 7,964 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. by 11.7%, purchasing an additional 7,964 shares, bringing its total to 76,264 shares worth approximately $15.2 million.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Royal Caribbean, with UBS raising its target from $311 to $353 and Sanford C. Bernstein increasing it from $290 to $360, reflecting positive sentiment around the stock.
• Despite insider selling activity, where Director Richard D. Fain sold 16,000 shares, institutional investors still own a substantial 87.53% of Royal Caribbean Cruises, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company's future.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 76,264 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,964 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $15,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,527,000. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 41.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 914,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,511,000 after buying an additional 267,923 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 179.2% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 645,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,550,000 after buying an additional 414,100 shares during the period. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 19.1% during the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 28,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,943,000 after buying an additional 4,629 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RCL. Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating and set a $385.00 price objective (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $230.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $302.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.14.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL stock traded down $13.03 on Friday, reaching $337.20. 2,071,042 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,852,269. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $164.01 and a 12 month high of $366.50. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $337.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $270.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.59 billion, a PE ratio of 25.28, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.04 by $0.34. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 47.15%. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.21 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.410-15.550 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 5.550-5.650 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 25th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is presently 22.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.02, for a total value of $4,976,320.00. Following the sale, the director owned 150,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,743,506.82. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 7,826 shares in the company, valued at $2,578,432.22. This trade represents a 39.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,507 shares of company stock valued at $10,091,282 in the last 90 days. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.