Summit Financial LLC Purchases 1,320 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Summit Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,434 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,320 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $207.87 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $125.06 and a 12-month high of $277.08. The company has a market cap of $55.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $237.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.72.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. 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. 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%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on RCL shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price objective (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.58.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.