Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 162 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 992 shares of the company’s stock after selling 162 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 over the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL opened at $237.88 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $244.16 and its 200 day moving average is $214.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market cap of $64.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $119.48 and a 12-month high of $277.08.

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

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RCL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four 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 stock presently has a consensus 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.