Huntington National Bank Purchases 317 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Huntington National Bank increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,716 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of RCL. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 14.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 74.3% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at $388,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 26,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on RCL shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’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 $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. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $177.60 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $125.06 and a twelve month high of $277.08. The firm has a market cap of $47.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.06%.

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

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.