Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Makes New $271,000 Investment in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 76.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,142,000 after purchasing an additional 12,530 shares in the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $231,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,137,000 after purchasing an additional 7,740 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Loop Capital raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $231.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $62.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. 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 Ltd. has a 52-week low of $124.24 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 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.