Life Planning Partners Inc Purchases New Shares in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 23,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,322,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,476,003,000 after acquiring an additional 2,068,114 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $707,833,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,519,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,418,000 after buying an additional 48,480 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,327,000 after buying an additional 502,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% in the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,918,000 after acquiring an additional 13,520 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RCL. Argus upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.33.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 4.6 %

NYSE:RCL opened at $207.35 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $125.06 and a one year high of $277.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $238.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire 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 shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last three months. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.