Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 353,893 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 353,893 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.22% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $1,373,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $707,833,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,519,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,418,000 after purchasing an additional 48,480 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,327,000 after purchasing an additional 502,349 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,918,000 after buying an additional 13,520 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on RCL shares. Argus increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.58.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE RCL opened at $207.87 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08. 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 company has a market capitalization of $55.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $237.20 and a 200 day moving average of $224.72.

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, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last three months. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.