Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.0%, selling 45,765 shares to hold approximately 1.47 million shares valued at $302.66 million.
• Analysts are generally optimistic about Royal Caribbean, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $323.10, despite some recent downgrades from other firms.
• Insider trading activity includes significant sales by CAO Henry L. Pujol and Director Richard D. Fain, who sold portions of their shares, contributing to a cumulative insider sale of over $11 million in the last 90 days.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,473,235 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,765 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $302,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% in the fourth 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. Shelton Capital Management grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 1,341 shares of the company's stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 17,594 shares of the company's stock worth $4,059,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $1,334,000. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 25,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,902,000 after buying an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Macquarie reduced their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $300.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $302.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial set a $337.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Melius Research raised Royal Caribbean Cruises to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $353.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $323.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 7,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.02, for a total value of $4,976,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 150,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,743,506.82. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,807 shares of company stock valued at $11,652,630. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of NYSE RCL traded up $10.41 on Tuesday, reaching $313.27. 2,191,976 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,543,464. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $150.33 and a fifty-two week high of $355.91. The company has a 50 day moving average of $309.32 and a 200 day moving average of $257.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 2.22.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 47.15% and a net margin of 20.97%. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.21 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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.