Independent Advisor Alliance Raises Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,267 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL opened at $212.33 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $241.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $125.06 and a 12-month high of $277.08. The firm has a market cap of $57.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. 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 currently 28.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.53.

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.