US Bancorp DE Purchases 502 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,383 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $3,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 76.1% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,142,000 after acquiring an additional 12,530 shares in the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $231,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,137,000 after acquiring an additional 7,740 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at $11,021,265.74. The trade was a 28.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $231.33 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $124.24 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The stock has a market cap of $62.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $244.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $217.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results 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 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders 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 represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Macquarie raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.53.

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.