UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Has $273.79 Million Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. by 4.7%, acquiring a total of 1,332,682 shares valued at approximately $273.8 million.
• Royal Caribbean reported a strong quarterly earnings of $4.38 per share, surpassing estimates, and announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.00, up from $0.75.
• Insider trading activity included notable sales from directors, with Richard D. Fain selling 16,000 shares for around $4.98 million, indicating a decrease in their ownership stake.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,332,682 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 59,743 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.49% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $273,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Okabena Investment Services Inc. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the first quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 4,996 shares of the company's stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,816 shares of the company's stock worth $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the company's stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,055 shares of the company's stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.1% during the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL stock traded down $13.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $337.20. The company had a trading volume of 2,071,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,852,269. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $337.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.92. 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 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.04 by $0.34. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 47.15% and a net margin of 20.97%.The company had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.21 earnings per share. The business'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 research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 25th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial set a $337.00 target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $235.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $302.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $263.00 to $358.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One research 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.02, for a total transaction of $4,976,320.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 150,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,743,506.82. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,414,966.28. This trade represents a 38.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,507 shares of company stock valued at $10,091,282. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.