Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,121 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,991 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $28,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LMG Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $231,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 26,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,052,000 after purchasing an additional 2,611 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $244.20 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.77. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $113.56 and a 12 month high of $277.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. 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 note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price objective (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

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.