Colonial River Investments LLC Grows Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Colonial River Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,915 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $242,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 2,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $234.16 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $63.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $119.48 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $244.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.32.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 20.58%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board 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 typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on RCL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four equities 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, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.