Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 512,485 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Primecap Management Co. CA cut its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,268,658 shares of the company’s stock after selling 512,485 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $984,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $219.71 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $241.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $220.62. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $125.06 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on RCL. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.53.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % 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, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.