Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Purchases 5,539 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 15.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,940 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,539 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $6,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 905.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 233.3% in the second quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $173.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $44.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $160.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.22. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $78.35 and a 1-year high of $174.48.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.45. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.32% and a return on equity of 52.49%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 11.65 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CFO Naftali Holtz bought 5,350 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $140.00 per share, with a total value of $749,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,755,840. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 3,073 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total value of $518,445.83. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,388 shares in the company, valued at $4,620,629.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz purchased 5,350 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $140.00 per share, with a total value of $749,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,256 shares in the company, valued at $6,755,840. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RCL. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $168.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $165.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $145.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.31.

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.