U S Global Investors Inc. Reduces Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

U S Global Investors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,755 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,445 shares during the quarter. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D1 Capital Partners L.P. raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.8% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during 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 grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% during 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 last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 569,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,468,000 after acquiring an additional 18,868 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RCL. Susquehanna increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price target 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. Argus upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $238.01 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $244.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $121.18 and a 12 month high of $277.08. 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 (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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. 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 1.26%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

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.