Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 289,366 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,661 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $59,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,924 shares of the company's stock valued at $905,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 85,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,766,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 13,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded up $8.00 on Friday, reaching $334.10. 1,440,459 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,358,346. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $130.08 and a twelve month high of $334.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $261.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 47.89% and a net margin of 19.38%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Melius Research raised Royal Caribbean Cruises to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $295.00 to $275.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Macquarie decreased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $300.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $280.40.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total transaction of $4,960,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.