Hudock Inc. Makes New Investment in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Hudock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $150,000. Hartford Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 15,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,538,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE RCL opened at $256.11 on Thursday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $113.10 and a 1-year high of $277.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $243.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.58%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RCL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total transaction of $53,732,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,556,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,335,253,633.20. This trade represents a 1.22 % 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total value of $763,922.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,243,287.76. This represents a 12.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 372,609 shares of company stock valued at $87,647,208. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.