Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 3,900 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,900 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $9,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 14.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10,599.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 409,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,696,000 after acquiring an additional 406,048 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,224,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $830,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last 90 days. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE RCL opened at $234.16 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $119.48 and a 1 year high of $277.08.

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 previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. 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 firm 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 $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. 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. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.58%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced 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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.