Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Takes $142,000 Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last three months. 7.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on RCL shares. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL opened at $246.04 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $121.58 and a one year high of $277.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business 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 boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

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.