Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Stock Holdings Lifted by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,068,114 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $6,476,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased 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 buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased 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 buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased 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 buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 0.5 %

RCL stock opened at $215.76 on Monday. 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 Ltd. has a 52-week low of $125.06 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $240.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on RCL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.