Allianz SE Takes Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Allianz SE purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 3,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 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 last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 76.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,142,000 after purchasing an additional 12,530 shares during the period. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,137,000 after purchasing an additional 7,740 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on RCL shares. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.33.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $207.35 on Monday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $125.06 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $238.63 and a 200 day moving average of $224.15. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $55.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.