Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $42.08 Million Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P NC sold 46,155 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., reducing their position by 25.6%, with remaining holdings valued at $42.08 million.
• Royal Caribbean Cruises reported earnings of $4.38 per share, surpassing expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.4%.
• The company recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.75 to $1.00 per share, with a dividend payout ratio of 22.49%.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 134,382 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,155 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $42,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. CX Institutional grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,423 shares of the company's stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 5,023 shares of the company's stock worth $1,573,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 4,996 shares of the company's stock worth $1,026,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,816 shares of the company's stock worth $2,633,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $235.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $230.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $330.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $405.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $326.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL stock traded up $3.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $329.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,627,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,920,677. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The company has a market cap of $89.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.23. The firm's 50-day moving average is $336.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.62.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.410-15.550 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 5.550-5.650 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 25th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is currently 22.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.47, for a total transaction of $1,715,550.29. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,578,432.22. This represents a 39.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director owned 16,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,414,966.28. The trade was a 38.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,507 shares of company stock valued at $10,091,282 in the last 90 days. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.