State of Michigan Retirement System Increases Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 67,101 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $15,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,327,000 after purchasing an additional 502,349 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,556,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2,042.8% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 122,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,349,000 after buying an additional 117,152 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.2% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 161,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,703,000 after buying an additional 93,899 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $14,544,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. The trade was 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 three months. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 6.0 %

NYSE:RCL opened at $226.67 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $124.24 and a one year high of $277.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $244.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $217.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on RCL. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.