Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Stock Position Trimmed by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC cut its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 17.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,444 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,541 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $3,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 257.4% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total value of $763,922.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,243,287.76. This represents a 12.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total transaction of $53,732,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,556,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,335,253,633.20. This represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 372,609 shares of company stock valued at $87,647,208. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on RCL. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $189.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.06.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $268.77 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $238.47 and its 200-day moving average is $200.21. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $113.10 and a 12 month high of $271.31. The firm has a market cap of $72.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 2.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 52.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 11.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.61%.

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.