Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,068,114 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.44% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $6,476,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in 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 period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

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 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 directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on RCL shares. Macquarie raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $215.76 on Monday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $240.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.04. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $125.06 and a 52 week high of $277.08. The company has a market cap of $58.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its 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 prior year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase 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 currently 28.06%.

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.