Plato Investment Management Ltd Sells 1,463 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. by 67.4%, selling 1,463 shares and holding a total of 707 shares valued at approximately $147,000.
• Royal Caribbean reported a strong Q2 earnings, with earnings per share of $4.38, exceeding expectations, and a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.4%.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.75 to $1.00 per share, reflecting positive financial performance and shareholder returns.

Plato Investment Management Ltd decreased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 67.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 707 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,463 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,674,763 shares of the company's stock worth $5,890,943,000 after acquiring an additional 602,447 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,991,079 shares of the company's stock worth $614,487,000 after buying an additional 535,043 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter worth $358,614,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 22,154.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,410,962 shares of the company's stock worth $289,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404,622 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,332,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $273,786,000 after buying an additional 59,743 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $350.32 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $337.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.24. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $162.49 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The company has a market capitalization of $95.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 2.12. 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 (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.21 earnings per share. The company's revenue 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. Analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 25th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.49%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,414,966.28. This represents a 38.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 sale, the director directly owned 150,291 shares in the company, valued at $46,743,506.82. This trade represents a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,507 shares of company stock worth $10,091,282 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on RCL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $302.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $405.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $235.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $330.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $327.14.

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.

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