Legal & General Group Plc Trims Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 22.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,108,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 319,907 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $255,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % 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 worth $28,571,705 over the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $179.51 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market capitalization of $48.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $125.06 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $229.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.99.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Macquarie boosted their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.21.

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.