RD Lewis Holdings Inc. Buys New Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. National Pension Service lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,556,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2,042.8% during the 4th 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. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 161,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,703,000 after purchasing an additional 93,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,544,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $219.71 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $241.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.62. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The company has a market capitalization of $59.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17.

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, 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.