United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Sells 160 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,434 shares of the company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $707,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,476,003,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,327,000 after buying an additional 502,349 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,856,000 after buying an additional 353,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15,633.2% in the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 353,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,663,000 after buying an additional 351,746 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on RCL. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.95.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

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 directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % 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. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE RCL opened at $192.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $218.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.35. 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 capitalization of $51.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $127.10 and a 52 week high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results 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 firm earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. 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 payout ratio is 28.06%.

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

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.