Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $3.75 Million Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,274 shares of the company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $3,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 262.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $192,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 14.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,896,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10,599.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 409,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,696,000 after buying an additional 406,048 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Argus increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $234.16 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 stock has a market capitalization of $63.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $119.48 and a twelve month high of $277.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.42.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share 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 business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.