Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 176,598 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,061 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $40,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. Argus raised their target price 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. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % 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 in the last three months. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $212.33 on Monday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $125.06 and a twelve month high of $277.08. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $241.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.