Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. Trims Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. decreased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 99.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 148,000 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,476,003,000 after buying an additional 2,068,114 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth approximately $707,833,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,519,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,418,000 after purchasing 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 purchasing an additional 502,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,918,000 after purchasing an additional 13,520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.58.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $212.17 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $236.72 and its 200 day moving average is $224.63. The company has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earned $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a boost 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 currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.