Capital International Investors Has $6.85 Billion Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,712,610 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 278,860 shares during the period. Royal Caribbean Cruises comprises 1.3% of Capital International Investors' portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Capital International Investors owned approximately 11.05% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $6,854,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RCL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded up $7.63 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $207.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,438,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,324,468. The company has a 50 day moving average of $215.02 and a 200-day moving average of $226.09. 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 firm has a market cap of $55.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $130.08 and a 52 week high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a "hold" rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $308.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Macquarie upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $253.00 price objective (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $272.53.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 in the last 90 days. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.