Capital World Investors Sells 425,978 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• Capital World Investors reduced its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 425,978 shares and still holding 16.56 million shares worth about $4.62 billion.
• Several other institutional investors increased positions in RCL, and institutions now own 87.53% of the company, showing continued heavy institutional interest.
• Royal Caribbean beat quarterly EPS estimates and raised guidance, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $344.79; the company also announced a $1.50 quarterly dividend.

Capital World Investors lessened its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,561,587 shares of the company's stock after selling 425,978 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 6.07% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $4,619,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,165,358 shares of the company's stock worth $10,088,156,000 after buying an additional 3,215,382 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth approximately $456,752,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,176,544 shares of the company's stock worth $5,627,669,000 after buying an additional 920,042 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 135.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,306,784 shares of the company's stock worth $366,925,000 after buying an additional 750,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 163.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,101,544 shares of the company's stock worth $356,515,000 after buying an additional 683,896 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RCL. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $318.00 to $297.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $309.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $349.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $304.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $344.79.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $280.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $75.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.77. The company's 50 day moving average is $271.05 and its 200 day moving average is $283.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $232.10 and a twelve month high of $366.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 45.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.830-3.930 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.100-17.500 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.27 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is 36.61%.

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.

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