Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 2,045 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 23,627 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,045 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $5,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 in the last three months. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on RCL. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.33.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE RCL opened at $217.23 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $58.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $239.31 and a 200 day moving average of $222.94.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

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.