Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 270,553 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,865 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.10% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $62,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,476,003,000 after acquiring an additional 2,068,114 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at about $707,833,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,519,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,418,000 after purchasing an additional 48,480 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,327,000 after buying an additional 502,349 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,918,000 after acquiring an additional 13,520 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total value of $4,447,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at $11,021,265.74. This trade represents a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 in the last three months. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL stock opened at $177.60 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. 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’s fifty day moving average is $234.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.43.

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

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on RCL shares. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Loop Capital raised 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.58.

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.