Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Sells 113 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC lowered its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,653 shares of the company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Royal Caribbean Cruises accounts for approximately 0.5% of Virtus ETF Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on RCL shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $308.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Loop Capital raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last three months. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $212.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market cap of $57.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $211.89 and a 200-day moving average of $226.38. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $130.08 and a 1-year high of $277.08.

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 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 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.