Ellis Investment Partners LLC Sells 4,138 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Ellis Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 74.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,439 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,138 shares during the quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of RCL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 15,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,191,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.3% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 924 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,624,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on RCL shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $263.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $337.00 to $333.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. TD Cowen started coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $405.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $385.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.04, for a total value of $3,399,412.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 16,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.02, for a total value of $4,976,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 150,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,743,506.82. This trade represents a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 31,507 shares of company stock worth $10,091,282. 6.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $304.66 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $82.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $329.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.21. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $164.01 and a 1 year high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.04 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 47.15% and a net margin of 20.97%.The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.21 earnings per share. 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, equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 25th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.99%.

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.