Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) CEO Sells $15,193,100.00 in Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $234.16 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $244.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market cap of $63.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $119.48 and a twelve month high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 declared 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 an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.58%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on RCL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus 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.