Insider Selling: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Director Sells 19,500 Shares of Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE RCL opened at $262.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $243.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.02. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $113.10 and a twelve month high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 20.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on RCL shares. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.12.

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.