Insider Selling: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) CEO Sells 58,000 Shares of Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) 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 value of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 7.5 %

Shares of NYSE RCL traded down $19.81 during trading on Thursday, hitting $244.20. 8,814,444 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,425,559. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $113.56 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 2.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $244.57 and its 200 day moving average is $211.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.58%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,854,905,000 after buying an additional 278,860 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $6,476,003,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $1,373,856,000 after purchasing an additional 353,893 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $707,833,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

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.