Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Position Reduced by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,914 shares of the company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. D1 Capital Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,570,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,502,000 after acquiring an additional 58,159 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,519,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,418,000 after acquiring an additional 48,480 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,327,000 after acquiring an additional 502,349 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 725,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,699,000 after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,918,000 after acquiring an additional 13,520 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $208.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $241.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, 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 Ltd. has a 52-week low of $125.06 and a 52-week high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its 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 net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in 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 an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.53.

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.