Laura H. Bethge Sells 14,992 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of RCL opened at $234.16 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market cap of $63.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $119.48 and a twelve month 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 firm earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.58%.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Ostrum Asset Management grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Ostrum Asset Management now owns 11,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,678,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

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.