Jason T. Liberty Sells 58,000 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 4.0 %

RCL opened at $234.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.42. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $119.48 and a 1-year high of $277.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share 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 period last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. Analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCL has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America upped 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. Susquehanna upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho reaffirmed 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. UBS Group increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.12.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 38,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,761,000 after buying an additional 4,311 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $374,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 262.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 1,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

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.