Sowell Financial Services LLC Purchases Shares of 15,481 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,571,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $213.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $125.06 and a one year high of $277.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $218.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53.

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

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

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 $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

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.