First National Advisers LLC Decreases Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

First National Advisers LLC cut its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,517 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,556 shares during the quarter. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total value of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,021,265.74. The trade was a 28.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $212.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $57.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $241.31 and its 200 day moving average is $219.88. 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.

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, topping 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 previous year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.53.

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.