Key Points
- Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 170,105 shares on Feb. 25 (at $315.92) and a total of 771,607 shares across Feb. 25–27 for roughly $243.6M, trimming his stake by about 0.99% while retaining 17,037,412 shares.
- Royal Caribbean's board authorized a $2.0B share buyback (up to 2.6% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $1.50 ($6.00 annualized, ~1.9% yield), signaling increased shareholder returns.
- The company reported Q4 EPS of $2.80 (in line) with revenue up 13.2% year‑over‑year, and analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $348.29.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 170,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.92, for a total value of $53,739,571.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,037,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,382,459,199.04. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.
Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Friday, February 27th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total value of $76,475,593.04.
- On Thursday, February 26th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14.
- On Tuesday, February 24th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 345,111 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.73, for a total transaction of $108,961,896.03.
- On Monday, February 23rd, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 19,140 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.30, for a total transaction of $6,073,122.00.
- On Friday, February 20th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 109,297 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.81, for a total transaction of $34,407,788.57.
- On Thursday, February 19th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 101,902 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.09, for a total transaction of $31,802,595.18.
- On Wednesday, February 18th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 104,540 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.64, for a total transaction of $33,624,245.60.
- On Tuesday, February 17th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 180,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.09, for a total transaction of $58,516,200.00.
- On Friday, February 13th, Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 100,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.58, for a total value of $32,658,000.00.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 2.6%
Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $310.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $304.59 and a 200 day moving average of $303.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50.
Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.
Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is 25.62%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,165,358 shares of the company's stock worth $10,088,156,000 after buying an additional 3,215,382 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,253,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,438,292,000 after acquiring an additional 187,283 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,176,544 shares of the company's stock worth $5,627,669,000 after acquiring an additional 920,042 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,576,751 shares of the company's stock worth $3,433,052,000 after acquiring an additional 84,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,054,191 shares of the company's stock worth $1,961,758,000 after acquiring an additional 155,491 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.
Key Stories Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises
Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Company expansion push — coverage highlights Royal Caribbean's aggressive growth and fleet/itinerary expansion plans that back continued demand recovery and revenue upside. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Luxury brand development — Silversea unveiled public spaces for The Cormorant at 55 South, a new hotel supporting Antarctic fly‑cruise packages, strengthening the company’s premium/expedition revenue mix. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Completed $2.5B senior notes offering — RCL issued $1.25B of 4.75% notes due 2033 and $1.25B of 5.25% notes due 2038. The deal boosts liquidity and funds financing needs but increases long‑term debt and interest expense. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 771,607 shares across Feb 25–27 for roughly $243.6M in proceeds (three Form 4 filings). While the sales are a small percentage of his total holdings, the magnitude and timing can pressure sentiment and share price. Read More.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $373.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $360.00 price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $380.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $348.29.
Get Our Latest Report on Royal Caribbean Cruises
Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Featured Articles
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
