82,283 Shares in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 82,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,027,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Loop Capital upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $215.76 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.04. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $125.06 and a 12 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 market capitalization of $58.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.