Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $1.09 Million Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,720 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% in 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 last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 44 shares during 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares during 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares during 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of RCL stock opened at $207.34 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $125.06 and a twelve month high of $277.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $242.06 and a 200 day moving average of $219.25. The stock has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53.

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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total value of $4,447,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,021,265.74. This trade represents a 28.75 % 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 in the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is 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.