Aperio Group LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 6.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,656 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,342 shares during the period. Aperio Group LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $5,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of RCL. Eqis Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.3% in the second quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Granahan Investment Management Inc. MA boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.4% in the first quarter. Granahan Investment Management Inc. MA now owns 2,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Cleararc Capital Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.6% in the first quarter. Cleararc Capital Inc. now owns 4,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. BKD Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.1% in the first quarter. BKD Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NEXT Financial Group Inc boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% in the second quarter. NEXT Financial Group Inc now owns 1,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.16% of the company’s stock.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) traded up 0.09% during midday trading on Friday, hitting $113.39. The stock had a trading volume of 899,887 shares. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $65.10 and a 1-year high of $116.89. The company has a market capitalization of $24.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $111.44 and its 200-day moving average is $102.06.
Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 28th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 15.91% and a net margin of 16.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post $7.26 EPS for the current year.
Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, April 28th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 5th. Investors of record on Friday, June 2nd were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.68%.
RCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank AG cut their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $102.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 1st. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $123.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 14th. J P Morgan Chase & Co upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $111.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, Bank of America Corporation initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Monday, July 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $123.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.19.
In related news, CEO Richard D. Fain sold 20,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.62, for a total value of $2,192,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 967,741 shares in the company, valued at $106,083,768.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 7,527 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $827,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,263,370. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 47,527 shares of company stock valued at $5,175,770. 15.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About Royal Caribbean Cruises
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a cruise company. The Company owns and operates three global cruise brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises (Global Brands). The Company also own joint venture interest in the German brand TUI Cruises, interest in the Spanish brand Pullmantur and interest in the Chinese brand SkySea Cruises (collectively, Partner Brands).
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