Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,358 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,530,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position 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 valued at $5,142,000 after acquiring an additional 12,530 shares during the period. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth $231,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,137,000 after purchasing an additional 7,740 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $213.59 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 quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.85. The company has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.06%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the 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 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.