Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Purchased by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,366 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $9,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.0% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 23,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,086,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% in the third quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 6,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 44.0% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the period. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.7% in the third quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. now owns 48,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,685,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 28.5% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at $11,021,265.74. This represents a 28.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Argus boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $203.34 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $125.06 and a 52 week high of $277.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.90. The firm has a market cap of $54.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, 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 (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board 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 paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.