Banco Santander S.A. Sells 223 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Banco Santander S.A. cut its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,894 shares of the company’s stock after selling 223 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on RCL. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.53.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. 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 in the last ninety days. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL opened at $207.09 on Tuesday. 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 $55.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $243.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.03. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $125.06 and a 12-month high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. 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. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.