Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by Ellis Investment Partners LLC

Ellis Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 352 shares during the quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. D1 Capital Partners L.P. grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.8% in the third quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,570,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,502,000 after purchasing an additional 58,159 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 725,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,699,000 after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% in the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,918,000 after acquiring an additional 13,520 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 569,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,468,000 after acquiring an additional 18,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10,599.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 409,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,696,000 after acquiring an additional 406,048 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total transaction of $53,732,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,556,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,253,633.20. This trade represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 392,109 shares of company stock worth $92,652,468. 7.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $262.99 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $113.10 and a 12 month high of $277.08. The stock has a market cap of $70.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $243.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.77. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS 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 business earned $1.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 20.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RCL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

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.