Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Director Sells $5,005,260.00 in Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $262.99 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $243.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.77. The company has a market cap of $70.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $113.10 and a 12 month high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost 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 1.14%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 20.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 241.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 38,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,761,000 after acquiring an additional 4,311 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 12,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,204,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 40.1% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at $221,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on RCL. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie boosted their target price 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. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

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.