AQR Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 62.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,630 shares of the company’s stock after selling 116,631 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $11,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 3,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total transaction of $518,445.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,620,629.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Naftali Holtz acquired 5,350 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,755,840. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 3,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total transaction of $518,445.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,620,629.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RCL. UBS Group boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $168.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $165.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho increased their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $175.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.13.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 2.4 %

RCL opened at $173.11 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $161.82 and a 200-day moving average of $151.97. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $78.35 and a 1-year high of $184.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 2.61.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 52.49% and a net margin of 16.32%. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 11.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 20.62%.

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.