Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. Trims Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,124 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,147 shares during the quarter. Royal Caribbean Cruises comprises about 0.9% of Keystone Investors PTE Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $12,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 76.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,142,000 after acquiring an additional 12,530 shares during the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,137,000 after purchasing an additional 7,740 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This 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 over the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $225.83 on Tuesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $125.06 and a 12 month high of $277.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $239.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.52. The stock has a market cap of $60.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share 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 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management 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. Shareholders 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 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RCL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Argus upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.