Arizona State Retirement System Purchases 985 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,029 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $16,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,021,265.74. This trade represents a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of RCL opened at $231.33 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $244.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.50. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $124.24 and a twelve month high of $277.08. The stock has a market cap of $62.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.53.

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.