Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Bought by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 74.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,429 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $560,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 257.4% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $274.94 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $113.10 and a twelve month high of $275.05. The company has a market capitalization of $73.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 2.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $239.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $200.69.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 52.92% and a net margin of 16.21%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 11.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.58%.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total transaction of $53,732,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,556,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,335,253,633.20. This represents a 1.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total transaction of $763,922.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,243,287.76. The trade was a 12.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 372,609 shares of company stock valued at $87,647,208 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on RCL shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. 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 reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.19.

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.