Huntington National Bank Purchases 317 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,716 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 period. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,856,000 after acquiring an additional 353,893 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $177.60 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $234.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.43. 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 $47.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities 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 approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 value of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,021,265.74. This trade represents a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on RCL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.58.

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.