Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 4,061 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 176,598 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,061 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $40,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in RCL. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,716,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 35,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,309,000 after purchasing an additional 2,687 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 372.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 86,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,299,000 after purchasing an additional 68,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 7,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $212.33 on Monday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $125.06 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The stock has a market cap of $57.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $241.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $220.25.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is 28.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Argus upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.