Rakuten Securities Inc. Purchases 208 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 150.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 346 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $80,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,327,000 after acquiring an additional 502,349 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $69,556,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2,042.8% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 122,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,349,000 after purchasing an additional 117,152 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings 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 worth $28,703,000 after purchasing an additional 93,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $14,544,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on RCL shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Argus raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $207.34 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $242.06 and a 200-day moving average of $219.25. The company has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $125.06 and a 52 week high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted 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 net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized 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 buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

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.