Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Purchased by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 147,040 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 32,177 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.05% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $33,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RCL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.58.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $177.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $47.80 billion, a PE 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $234.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.22.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last ninety days. 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.