Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $69.56 Million Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 301,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,556,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Royal Caribbean Cruises as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% in the third quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on RCL. Argus upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 2.5 %

NYSE RCL opened at $238.01 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $244.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.84. 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 Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $121.18 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % 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. 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.