Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) CFO Naftali Holtz Sells 17,000 Shares

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at $11,021,265.74. The trade was a 28.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 7.5 %

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $244.20 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.77. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $113.56 and a 52-week high of $277.08. 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 cap of $65.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its 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 posted $1.25 EPS. Analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on RCL. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.12.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,854,905,000 after purchasing an additional 278,860 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,476,003,000 after buying an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,373,856,000 after buying an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $707,833,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,653,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,080,000 after acquiring an additional 513,702 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.