Schroder Investment Management Group Has $60.64 Million Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Royal Caribbean by 25.2% to 185,601 shares, worth about $60.64 million (roughly 0.07% of the company) at the end of the quarter.
• Royal Caribbean boosted its quarterly dividend to $1.50 (annualized $6.00, ~2.1% yield) and the board authorized a $2.0 billion share buyback program to repurchase up to about 2.6% of outstanding shares.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.80 (meeting estimates) and revenue of $4.26 billion (+13.2% YoY, slightly below expectations); analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $348.29 target while the stock trades near $285 (52‑week range $164.01–$366.50).

Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,601 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 37,322 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.07% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $60,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 562 shares of the company's stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 794 shares of the company's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.0% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,823 shares of the company's stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.5% during the third quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the company's stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on RCL. Tigress Financial increased 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 report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $368.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $353.00 to $304.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $348.29.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 1.9%

RCL stock opened at $284.97 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.87. The business's fifty day moving average price is $304.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $301.42.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total transaction of $2,562,053.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,786 shares in the company, valued at $10,695,121.06. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total transaction of $76,475,593.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,435,910 shares in the company, valued at $5,120,443,401.40. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 in the last quarter. Company 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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