Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,639 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,240 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $28,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 2.3 %

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $219.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $125.06 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $239.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.98.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase 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 1.37%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.