Heritage Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $969,000.
A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 133,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 25,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,902,000 after buying an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth about $1,334,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 17,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,059,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 14,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,418,000 after acquiring an additional 4,857 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages recently commented on RCL. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $276.95.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Royal Caribbean Cruises
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. The trade was 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. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance
NYSE RCL traded up $1.56 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $193.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,116,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,346,103. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $125.06 and a 12 month high of $277.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $223.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. 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 (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend
The company 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 is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is presently 28.06%.
Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
About Royal Caribbean Cruises
(
Free Report)
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.
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