Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Royal Caribbean by 3.4%, now holding about 0.67% of the company, equating to around $374.2 million.
• Institutional investors currently own 87.53% of Royal Caribbean's shares, with notable increases in holdings from firms like Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which grew its position by 70.3%.
• Analyst ratings for Royal Caribbean show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $323.10, indicating optimism for stock performance moving forward.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,821,455 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,789 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.67% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $374,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of the 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 directly owned 16,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,414,966.28. This represents a 38.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.47, for a total value of $1,715,550.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,578,432.22. The trade was a 39.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,507 shares of company stock worth $10,091,282 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL traded down $4.8860 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $324.2340. The company had a trading volume of 485,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,516,699. The company has a market cap of $88.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 0.93 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $316.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $259.88. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $154.08 and a 12-month high of $355.91.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.21 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $230.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and set a $385.00 price objective (up from $275.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $327.14.

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.