Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Shares Bought by Capital International Sarl

Key Points

• Capital International Sarl increased its holding in Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) by 5.3% in Q3 to 304,979 shares—worth about $98.7 million—and RCL is roughly 1.7% of the fund's portfolio (its 11th largest position).
• Royal Caribbean raised its quarterly dividend to $1.50 per share (annualized $6.00, ~2.1% yield) and the board authorized a $2.0 billion share buyback program (about 2.6% of outstanding shares).
• Corporate insiders sold approximately 1.97 million RCL shares valued at $626.7 million over the past 90 days, even though hedge funds and institutional investors own about 87.53% of the company.

Capital International Sarl lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 304,979 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,313 shares during the quarter. Royal Caribbean Cruises comprises about 1.7% of Capital International Sarl's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Capital International Sarl owned about 0.11% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $98,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter valued at $31,000. GGM Financials LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 318.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 38.1% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on RCL. Mizuho set a $379.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $321.00 to $318.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, December 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.29.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total value of $2,562,053.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,695,121.06. The trade was a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total value of $453,144.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,203,935.82. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $290.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $304.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $301.83. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $164.01 and a 52-week high of $366.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Cruises NYSE: RCL, operating as part of the Royal Caribbean Group, is a global cruise company that develops, markets and operates passenger cruise ships. The company operates multiple consumer-facing cruise brands that offer short- and long-duration itineraries and a range of onboard experiences. Its core activities include itineraries and voyage operations, guest services and hospitality, onboard food and beverage, entertainment and recreation programming, and the commercial activities needed to sell and support cruises through both direct and travel‑agent channels.

Royal Caribbean's ships serve a broad set of geographies worldwide, regularly deploying vessels in the Caribbean, North America (including Alaska), Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.

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