Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Sells 6,167 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 16,147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,167 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $3,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 30,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,992 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at $415,000. Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 6,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE RCL opened at $208.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $241.64 and a 200-day moving average of $219.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $55.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $125.06 and a 52-week high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted 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 net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 directly owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the firm’s 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.