Prudential Financial Inc. Reduces Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,861 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,503 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $8,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RCL. Corebridge Financial Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 63,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,256 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,476,003,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth about $19,027,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $388,000. Finally, Plancorp LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on RCL shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 target price for the company. Argus increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.33.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $207.35 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $55.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $125.06 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $238.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.72.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. 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. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally 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.