Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Boosts Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,644 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 490 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $282,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 804.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,968,000 after purchasing an additional 26,865 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 24,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,720,000 after buying an additional 1,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 1,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on RCL shares. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Argus raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Macquarie upped their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.12.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 value of $763,922.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 139,353 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.89, for a total value of $33,150,685.17. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,167,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,868,240.23. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 372,609 shares of company stock worth $87,647,208 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 0.2 %

RCL stock opened at $256.11 on Thursday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $243.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.31. The stock has a market cap of $68.86 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $113.10 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08.

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 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 period last year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.96 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.58%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.