Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Purchased by NWK Group Inc.

NWK Group Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,703 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the quarter. Royal Caribbean Cruises makes up 2.9% of NWK Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. NWK Group Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $7,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Ostrum Asset Management increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Ostrum Asset Management now owns 11,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,678,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL opened at $192.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $127.20 and a twelve month high of $277.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.48. The firm has a market cap of $51.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total value of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,021,265.74. This represents a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.95.

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.