Horizon Investments LLC Grows Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,346 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at $311,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 124.0% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 2,256 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 38,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,968,000 after acquiring an additional 6,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 8,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,898,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last 90 days. 7.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $215.26 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $240.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.86. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $57.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.