Essex Savings Bank Makes New $207,000 Investment in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Essex Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RCL. D1 Capital Partners L.P. increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,570,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,502,000 after acquiring an additional 58,159 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 725,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,699,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% in the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,918,000 after purchasing an additional 13,520 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.0% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 461,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,690,000 after buying an additional 17,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $72,696,000 after buying an additional 406,048 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total transaction of $763,922.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,348 shares in the company, valued at $5,243,287.76. This represents a 12.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total transaction of $53,732,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,556,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,253,633.20. This trade represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 404,332 shares of company stock valued at $94,299,521 in the last quarter. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 0.3 %

RCL opened at $233.07 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $113.10 and a 12 month high of $258.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $236.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.81. The company has a market cap of $62.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 52.92% and a net margin of 16.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 11.65 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 22.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $189.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.25.

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.