Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE Lowers Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE cut its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 16.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,322 shares of the company’s stock after selling 450 shares during the quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of RCL. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 76.1% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,142,000 after purchasing an additional 12,530 shares in the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,856,000 after buying an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased 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. Finally, Loop Capital raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.58.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of RCL opened at $177.60 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.82. 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 firm has a market cap of $47.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at $11,021,265.74. This trade represents a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.