Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $216.56 Million Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 938,743 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,900 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.35% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $216,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Shelton Capital Management raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15,633.2% in the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 353,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,663,000 after acquiring an additional 351,746 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $2,884,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 297,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,714,000 after acquiring an additional 37,421 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 147,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,921,000 after purchasing an additional 32,177 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on RCL. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $178.88 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.27. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $125.06 and a twelve month high of $277.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. 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 (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS 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 earned $1.25 EPS. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.