Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Shares Acquired by Harbor Investment Advisory LLC

Key Points

• Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 42.0%, owning 3,458 shares valued at over $1 million at the end of the last reporting period.
• Royal Caribbean Cruises also announced a dividend increase from $0.75 to $1.00 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.2%, set to be paid on October 13th.
• Recent analyst ratings show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" for RCL stock, with price targets raised by several firms, including Stifel Nicolaus, which increased their target from $400 to $420.

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 42.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,458 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Revisor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,525,000. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $266,000. Florida Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 87.6% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Roberts Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $572,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 602,447 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 sale, the director directly owned 16,407 shares in the company, valued at $5,414,966.28. The trade was a 38.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,578,432.22. This represents a 39.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,507 shares of company stock worth $10,091,282 over the last ninety days. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $390.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $235.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $327.14.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $337.20 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $337.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The stock has a market cap of $91.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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. Equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, September 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 25th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.99%.

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.

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