Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Has $21.36 Million Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 92,572 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $21,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. D1 Capital Partners L.P. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,570,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,502,000 after buying an additional 58,159 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,519,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,418,000 after buying an additional 48,480 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,327,000 after buying an additional 502,349 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,918,000 after buying an additional 13,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 569,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,468,000 after buying an additional 18,868 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on RCL. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE RCL opened at $215.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market capitalization of $58.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $125.06 and a 12-month high of $277.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $240.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Profile

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.