Watchtower Advisors LP Acquires Shares of 55,215 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Watchtower Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 55,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,000. Royal Caribbean Cruises makes up about 4.5% of Watchtower Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 51.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 11,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 3,958 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $227,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter valued at $317,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,156,000 after buying an additional 5,655 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $251.12 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $213.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.76. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $113.10 and a twelve month high of $255.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 52.92%. The company’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 11.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $220.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $189.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 139,353 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.89, for a total value of $33,150,685.17. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,167,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,321,868,240.23. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total transaction of $763,922.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,243,287.76. The trade was a 12.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 404,332 shares of company stock valued at $94,299,521 in the last ninety days. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

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.