Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 156 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,362 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $3,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RCL. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $212.33 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $241.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.88.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given 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 is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on RCL shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.53.

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.