Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Boosts Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 170.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 725,561 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 456,882 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $234,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 27.1% during the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. 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 valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $333.00 to $321.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.27.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL stock opened at $276.06 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $275.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market cap of $75.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.94. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $5.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.68 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.16 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 44.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.20 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.580-15.630 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.740-2.790 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 26.90%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.76, for a total value of $309,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,234 shares in the company, valued at $4,010,571.84. This represents a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.