Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 80,861 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 27.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 208,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 80,861 shares during the period. Royal Caribbean Cruises comprises about 0.9% of Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.08% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $48,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% during 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. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% during the third quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.9% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 353 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% in the third quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 1,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 6,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.51, for a total transaction of $1,401,812.73. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,077,593.64. This represents a 40.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total transaction of $763,922.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,243,287.76. The trade was a 12.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 404,332 shares of company stock worth $94,299,521. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on RCL. Citigroup raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $257.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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 note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $189.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL stock opened at $241.79 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $237.01 and a 200-day moving average of $195.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $113.10 and a 12-month high of $258.70. The firm has a market cap of $65.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 52.92%. The company had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.85 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 11.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.61%.

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.