Vestor Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 18,458 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Vestor Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 18,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,258,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on RCL. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at $11,021,265.74. This trade represents a 28.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 0.5 %

RCL stock opened at $215.76 on Friday. 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 $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.17. The firm has a market cap of $58.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.