Dorsey Wright & Associates Invests $4.22 Million in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 18,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,221,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,476,003,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $707,833,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,519,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,418,000 after buying an additional 48,480 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,327,000 after buying an additional 502,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% in the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,918,000 after acquiring an additional 13,520 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 4.6 %

RCL stock opened at $207.35 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $125.06 and a one year high of $277.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $238.63 and its 200 day moving average is $223.72. The firm has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is an increase 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 is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RCL. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,021,265.74. The trade was a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.