Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL Shares Bought by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its Royal Caribbean stake by 16.6% in Q4, buying 6,613 shares to hold 46,413 shares worth about $12.95 million.
• Multiple large institutions — including Nordea, Ameriprise, TD Asset Management and Vanguard — heavily increased positions, leaving institutional ownership at roughly 87.5%.
• Royal Caribbean reported Q4 EPS of $2.80 (in line with estimates) on $4.26 billion in revenue (slightly below consensus) and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.50 ( $6.00 annualized, ~2.3% yield).

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,413 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,613 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $12,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 135.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,306,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $366,925,000 after purchasing an additional 750,723 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 163.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,101,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $356,515,000 after purchasing an additional 683,896 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 560.9% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 676,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,949,000 after purchasing an additional 574,256 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 260.9% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 661,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $213,895,000 after purchasing an additional 477,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,728,810,000 after purchasing an additional 461,990 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $266.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $71.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.93. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $284.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.21. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $203.85 and a 1 year high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.35 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is currently 38.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $330.00 to $310.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $352.89.

Trending Headlines about Royal Caribbean Cruises

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Falling oil prices improve margin outlook for cruise operators by lowering fuel expense, a large operating cost for Royal Caribbean; analysts and market commentators are flagging cruise names as attractive beneficiaries of cheaper fuel. 3 Cruise Stocks to Buy as Oil Prices Plummet
• Positive Sentiment: Average brokerage recommendations for RCL sit around a Buy, which can support demand for the shares and act as a sentiment anchor for investors. Royal Caribbean (RCL) Is Considered a Good Investment by Brokers: Is That True?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and comparative reviews (broader market writeups) are noting RCL alongside peers; these pieces raise awareness but don't present new catalysts. Reviewing Royal Caribbean Cruises NYSE: RCL & The Generation Essentials Group NYSE: TGE
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect revenue and EPS growth, but multiple previews (Zacks/Yahoo) suggest Royal Caribbean may lack the components typically associated with an earnings beat next week — a mixed signal that keeps upside limited near term. Royal Caribbean (RCL) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week's Release
• Negative Sentiment: Heightened Middle East tensions around the Strait of Hormuz raise the risk of supply disruptions and higher bunker fuel costs or transport detours — an input shock that would hit margins and leisure demand if sustained. Strait Of Hormuz Tensions Add Fuel Cost Question For Royal Caribbean
• Negative Sentiment: Recent intra‑week weakness and a short pullback in the stock reflect volatility and profit‑taking after prior gains, highlighting that sentiment can reverse quickly on macro or sector headlines. Royal Caribbean (RCL) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total transaction of $29,710,297.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 218,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $71,513,217.82. This represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

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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