Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 270,553 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,865 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.10% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $62,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company's stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last three months. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 7.8 %

Shares of NYSE:RCL traded down $16.27 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $193.24. 875,270 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,350,142. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $52.01 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $125.06 and a 12 month high of $277.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $227.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.11.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share 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 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RCL. Macquarie upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $262.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $276.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Profile

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.