Global Retirement Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Global Retirement Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 267 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 4.0 %

RCL stock opened at $234.16 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $244.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.32. The stock has a market cap of $63.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $119.48 and a twelve month high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 20.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price target (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

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.