Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.0%, acquiring an additional 4,787 shares, bringing their total holdings to 84,659 shares valued at approximately $17.4 million.
• Royal Caribbean's stock is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with an average target price of $321.10 following several recent adjustments and upgrades from various institutions.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $4.38, exceeding estimates, and showing a 10.4% revenue growth year-over-year, despite ongoing fluctuations in stock price.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,659 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,787 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $17,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,854,905,000 after buying an additional 278,860 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 21.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,991,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $614,487,000 after buying an additional 535,043 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,653,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $612,080,000 after purchasing an additional 513,702 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,364,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,534,000 after purchasing an additional 319,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 22,154.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,410,962 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404,622 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of RCL stock traded up $5.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $308.76. 678,169 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,533,222. The stock has a market cap of $83.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock's fifty day moving average is $309.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.03. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $150.33 and a 52-week high of $355.91.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 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 analysts' expectations of $4.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.21 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on RCL shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $230.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Susquehanna reaffirmed 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $323.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.47, for a total transaction of $1,715,550.29. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,826 shares in the company, valued at $2,578,432.22. The trade was a 39.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total value of $4,960,760.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 165,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,868,055.10. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,807 shares of company stock worth $11,652,630 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

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.