Essex Savings Bank Makes New Investment in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• Essex Savings Bank has made a recent investment in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. by purchasing 892 shares valued at approximately $279,000.
• Royal Caribbean Cruises announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, raising it from $0.75 to $1.00 per share, reflecting a positive growth in shareholder returns.
• Recent analyst reports have mixed ratings, with Bank of America raising its price objective to $355.00, while Truist Financial reduced its target from $337.00 to $333.00.

Essex Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Revisor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter worth about $1,525,000. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter valued at approximately $266,000. Florida Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 87.6% in the first quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the period. Roberts Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter valued at approximately $572,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,674,763 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,890,943,000 after acquiring an additional 602,447 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,578,432.22. The trade was a 39.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.04, for a total transaction of $3,399,412.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,414,966.28. The trade was a 38.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,507 shares of company stock valued at $10,091,282. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $337.00 to $333.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $390.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $330.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $326.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $329.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $164.01 and a 52 week high of $366.50. The firm's fifty day moving average is $336.20 and its 200 day moving average is $274.21. The company has a market cap of $89.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.21 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

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

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.

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