MML Investors Services LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,815 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $10,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 289,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,349,000 after acquiring an additional 7,298 shares in the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at $800,000. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 725,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,699,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 2nd quarter valued at about $611,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 35,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,310,000 after buying an additional 2,640 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $245.52. 1,976,118 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,330,434. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $113.10 and a one year high of $258.70. The stock has a market cap of $66.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.32, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 2.59. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $218.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.34.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 52.92%. The business had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.85 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 11.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.44%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 6,723 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.51, for a total value of $1,401,812.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,964 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,077,593.64. This trade represents a 40.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total transaction of $53,732,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,556,860 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,253,633.20. This represents a 1.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 404,332 shares of company stock worth $94,299,521 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on RCL shares. StockNews.com raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $180.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.13.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.