HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Has $3.87 Million Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,781 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,292 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $3,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price target (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.33.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $207.35 on Monday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $125.06 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $238.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.15.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued 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 period last year, the company earned $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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors 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 typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % 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 three months. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.