Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Buys 99 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 618.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $27,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,476,003,000 after buying an additional 2,068,114 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at $707,833,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,519,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,418,000 after acquiring an additional 48,480 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,327,000 after acquiring an additional 502,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,918,000 after purchasing an additional 13,520 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on RCL. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Argus increased their target price 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.58.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,021,265.74. The trade was a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 1.9 %

RCL opened at $212.17 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The firm has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $125.06 and a 12 month high of $277.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $236.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.63.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.