Scotia Capital Inc. Purchases 1,450 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,583 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,450 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $5,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 12,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,254,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.5% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth about $210,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 33.3% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 175.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 0.3 %

RCL opened at $191.98 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.30. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $125.06 and a 52 week high of $277.08. 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 stock has a market cap of $51.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RCL. Citigroup lifted 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, January 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas started coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.