Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 147,393 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,995 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $41,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 20,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,297,000 after purchasing an additional 6,063 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,762,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter valued at about $357,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $282.00 on Tuesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $185.50 and a 1 year high of $366.50. The firm has a market cap of $76.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $289.69 and a 200 day moving average of $288.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on RCL. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $330.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $361.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $318.00 to $327.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $349.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total value of $453,144.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,203,935.82. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 in the last 90 days. 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.