Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Raises Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,259 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of RCL opened at $234.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $244.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.42. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $119.48 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. Analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 20.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on RCL. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.