4,819 Shares in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Bought by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,122,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $341,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,373,856,000 after acquiring an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 6,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 28,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,549,000 after acquiring an additional 3,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 8,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on RCL shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.58.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % 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 over the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $212.17 on Thursday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $236.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.63.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.