Tredje AP fonden Decreases Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Tredje AP fonden cut its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,966 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,966 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $4,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. D1 Capital Partners L.P. raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.8% during the third quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,570,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,502,000 after purchasing an additional 58,159 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,519,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,418,000 after buying an additional 48,480 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,327,000 after buying an additional 502,349 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 725,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,699,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% in the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,918,000 after buying an additional 13,520 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $208.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $55.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management 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 issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.