Ellis Investment Partners LLC Trims Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Ellis Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 74.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,439 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,138 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,674,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,890,943,000 after buying an additional 602,447 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 21.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,991,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,487,000 after buying an additional 535,043 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter worth about $358,614,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,332,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,786,000 after purchasing an additional 59,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 992,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,915,000 after purchasing an additional 128,530 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on RCL. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $235.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $230.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $385.00 price objective (up from $275.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE RCL opened at $304.66 on Monday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $164.01 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $329.61 and a 200-day moving average of $285.66. The firm has a market cap of $82.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.08.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 25th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.47, for a total transaction of $1,715,550.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.04, for a total value of $3,399,412.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,414,966.28. The trade was a 38.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,507 shares of company stock valued at $10,091,282 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.