Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Stock Holdings Lessened by Mount Lucas Management LP

Mount Lucas Management LP lessened its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,849 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,224 shares during the period. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 76.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,142,000 after buying an additional 12,530 shares during the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth $231,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,137,000 after buying an additional 7,740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 0.9 %

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $213.59 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $57.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $243.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $218.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 1.40%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.