Fifth Third Bancorp Grows Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. by 26.8%, acquiring a total of 19,699 shares valued at approximately $6.17 million.
• Royal Caribbean Cruises announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.75 to $1.00, reflecting a 1.2% dividend yield for shareholders.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Royal Caribbean, with JPMorgan and Citigroup increasing theirs to $367.00 and $399.00 respectively, indicating strong market expectations.

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 26.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,699 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,165 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $6,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth about $201,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,691 shares of the company's stock worth $2,408,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter worth about $5,024,000. Finally, Quantum Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.0% during the second quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the company's stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.47, for a total value of $1,715,550.29. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,578,432.22. This represents a 39.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.04, for a total transaction of $3,399,412.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,414,966.28. This represents a 38.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,507 shares of company stock worth $10,091,282. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $390.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $326.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $324.92 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $335.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.23. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $164.01 and a one year high of $366.50. The firm has a market cap of $88.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.12.

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 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 firm had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.21 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 25th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.49%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.