Freedom Investment Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Freedom Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 20.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,564 shares of the company’s stock after selling 395 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 1st quarter worth about $358,614,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,674,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,890,943,000 after purchasing an additional 602,447 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,991,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,487,000 after purchasing an additional 535,043 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 179.2% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 645,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,550,000 after purchasing an additional 414,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 112.9% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 566,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,396,000 after purchasing an additional 300,232 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,578,432.22. This represents a 39.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,507 shares of company stock worth $10,091,282. 6.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on RCL shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $390.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $405.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $302.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $235.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $263.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.14.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL opened at $316.59 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $85.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 2.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $329.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $293.16. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $164.01 and a 52-week high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted 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 business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.54 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 47.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.21 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.410-15.550 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 5.550-5.650 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 25th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 25th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.99%.

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.