BTIM Corp. Invests $328,000 in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL)

BTIM Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. First Quadrant L P CA purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter valued at about $10,725,000. Aperio Group LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.8% in the second quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 52,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,752,000 after buying an additional 3,342 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.0% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.3% in the second quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Guild Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the second quarter valued at about $2,795,000. 71.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) traded down 0.13% during midday trading on Friday, hitting $119.77. 827,257 shares of the stock were exchanged. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $65.10 and a 1-year high of $120.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $111.74 and its 200-day moving average is $102.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 1.06.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post $7.43 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, April 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RCL. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $134.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $134.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday. UBS AG reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $131.00 price objective (up from $112.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Buckingham Research boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.23.

In related news, CEO Richard D. Fain sold 210,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.83, for a total transaction of $24,406,075.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 967,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,093,440.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard D. Fain sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.62, for a total transaction of $2,192,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 967,741 shares in the company, valued at $106,083,768.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 255,499 shares of company stock worth $29,315,711 over the last three months. 15.30% of the stock is owned by 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).