Rathbones Group PLC Purchases 351,746 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Rathbones Group PLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 15,633.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 353,996 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 351,746 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $81,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on RCL. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 target price on the stock. Argus upped their price objective 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. Loop Capital raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.58.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 5.9 %

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $177.60 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $234.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $125.06 and a 1-year high of $277.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % 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, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,021,265.74. The trade was a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.