1,348 Shares in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Bought by LMR Partners LLP

LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,854,905,000 after purchasing an additional 278,860 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,373,856,000 after purchasing an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at $707,833,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,653,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $612,080,000 after purchasing an additional 513,702 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on RCL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho reissued 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. 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 note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Macquarie decreased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $300.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’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 owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 89,992 shares of company stock valued at $23,566,445. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $251.60 on Thursday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $130.08 and a 1-year high of $277.08. The stock has a market cap of $68.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $210.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.11. 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 (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 24.92%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management 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.