Insider Selling: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Insider Sells $3,925,805.12 in Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $234.16 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $244.35 and a 200 day moving average of $212.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $119.48 and a 12-month high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (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 last year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.58%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RCL. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 38,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,761,000 after purchasing an additional 4,311 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth $374,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 262.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% during the third quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 1,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.3% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.12.

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.