Sims Investment Management LLC Buys New Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Sims Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 1,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $346,000. Royal Caribbean Cruises makes up approximately 0.2% of Sims Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of RCL. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 3.3 %

RCL opened at $246.04 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $121.58 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $244.74 and a 200-day moving average of $215.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $66.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 1.22%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on RCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.