KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $19.03 Million Investment in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 82,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,027,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 23,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,086,000 after buying an additional 2,286 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $375,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 48.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,642,000 after acquiring an additional 10,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Okabena Investment Services Inc. acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $602,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL opened at $215.76 on Monday. 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 has a market capitalization of $58.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.04. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08.

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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. 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 1.39%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.06%.

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

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.