Pacer Advisors Inc. Buys 3,074 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,074 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $4,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RCL. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 257.4% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 139,353 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.89, for a total transaction of $33,150,685.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,167,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,868,240.23. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total value of $763,922.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,348 shares in the company, valued at $5,243,287.76. The trade was a 12.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 372,609 shares of company stock worth $87,647,208 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on RCL. Barclays increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Argus increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.19.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL opened at $274.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $239.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $200.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.93 billion, a PE ratio of 28.26, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $113.10 and a 52-week high of $275.05.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 52.92% and a net margin of 16.21%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 11.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.58%.

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.