State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,660 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,535 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $24,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SRH Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. GGM Financials LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on RCL shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $350.00 to $321.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. 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 report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $352.89.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $264.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $279.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.81. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $217.42 and a 52 week high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $4.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.830-3.930 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.100-17.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.35 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 38.44%.

More Royal Caribbean Cruises News

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat on the bottom line — Adjusted EPS came in ahead of consensus ($3.60 vs ~$3.20) and revenue roughly matched estimates, signaling strong demand and better-than-expected operating performance. PR Newswire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Bookings and demand are holding up — Mediterranean itineraries have bounced back despite regional tensions, supporting forward load factors and revenue visibility for peak seasons. TravelPulse: Mediterranean Bookings
• Positive Sentiment: Large shareholder returns — The company returned roughly $1.1 billion in the quarter via ~$836M of buybacks and $270M of dividends, which supports EPS and investor sentiment. PR Newswire: Share Repurchases
• Neutral Sentiment: Updated FY and Q2 guidance — Management set FY 2026 adjusted EPS at $17.10–$17.50 and Q2 EPS at $3.83–$3.93; the FY range sits near analyst expectations but the Q2 range is below some consensus estimates. That mixed guidance is why some outlets describe the outlook as an “update” rather than a straight upgrade. PR Newswire: Guidance Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation perspective — Some analysts note the stock looks fairly priced after the move higher, so future gains may depend on execution against guidance and fuel trends. Motley Fool: Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Rising fuel costs are a clear headwind — Management and multiple outlets flagged higher fuel prices from Middle East tensions as the main near‑term earnings drag; the company trimmed its prior internal range to reflect those costs. Reuters: Fuel Costs / Forecast Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 pressure and itinerary changes — Management noted repositioning of ships away from higher‑risk areas and said fuel was the most notable near‑term financial impact, raising the risk of softer near‑term margins. Earnings Call Transcript

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total value of $113,355,118.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total transaction of $29,710,297.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,513,217.82. The trade was a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 over the last ninety days. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by 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.