Focus Partners Wealth Boosts Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,641 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth approximately $707,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $6,476,003,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 513,702 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted 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 acquiring an additional 502,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,856,000 after purchasing an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE RCL opened at $250.02 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 company has a market cap of $67.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $211.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.44. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.77 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 24.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 89,992 shares of company stock valued at $23,566,445. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on RCL. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Macquarie dropped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $300.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.30.

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.