Mount Lucas Management LP Lowers Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Mount Lucas Management LP cut its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,849 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,224 shares during the quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,327,000 after acquiring an additional 502,349 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,556,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2,042.8% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 122,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,349,000 after purchasing an additional 117,152 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.2% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 161,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,703,000 after purchasing an additional 93,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth approximately $14,544,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last 90 days. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 0.9 %

RCL opened at $213.59 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $243.51 and its 200-day moving average is $218.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $125.06 and a 52-week high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.