Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Trading Down 10% After Insider Selling

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)’s stock price traded down 10% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $237.22 and last traded at $237.62. 1,779,863 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 2,191,829 shares. The stock had previously closed at $264.01.

Specifically, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at $11,021,265.74. This represents a 28.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 4.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $63.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $244.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.42. 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 issued 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 net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.58%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,854,905,000 after acquiring an additional 278,860 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,476,003,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,856,000 after purchasing an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $707,833,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,653,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $612,080,000 after buying an additional 513,702 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.