Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Purchased by Okabena Investment Services Inc.

Okabena Investment Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 46.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,952 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,560 shares during the quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. UBS Group increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price target (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, 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 value of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $207.35 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $238.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.27. The firm has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $125.06 and a 12-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.

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, 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 previous year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

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