Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Takes Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,884,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 297,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,714,000 after buying an additional 37,421 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 147,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,921,000 after acquiring an additional 32,177 shares in the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 146.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares during the period. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,722,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 5.9 %

RCL stock opened at $177.60 on Friday. 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 $47.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $234.61 and its 200-day moving average is $224.82.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share 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 buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on RCL. 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 research note on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Macquarie lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,514,907.30. This represents 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 have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.