Simplicity Wealth LLC Takes $230,000 Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $207.07 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $125.06 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $242.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.34.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 have sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on RCL. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.