Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,153 shares of the company’s stock after selling 728 shares during the quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $13,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $212.33 on Monday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $125.06 and a twelve month high of $277.08. 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 has a market capitalization of $57.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $241.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.25.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.