Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC cut its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 200,996 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,306 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.07% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $46,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $217.23 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $239.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $125.06 and a 52-week 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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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 given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 sale 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on RCL shares. Loop Capital raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.33.

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.