Diametric Capital LP Sells 2,429 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Diametric Capital LP lessened its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 64.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,314 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,429 shares during the period. Diametric Capital LP's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $303,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company's stock worth $6,476,003,000 after buying an additional 2,068,114 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth about $707,833,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,519,000 shares of the company's stock worth $350,418,000 after acquiring an additional 48,480 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $199,327,000 after acquiring an additional 502,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,918,000 after purchasing an additional 13,520 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 5.9 %

Shares of NYSE RCL traded down $11.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $177.60. 5,319,543 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,330,142. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.82. The stock has a market cap of $47.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $125.06 and a 1-year high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were 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 yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents 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 valued at $28,571,705 in the last three months. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $253.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Loop Capital raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $279.58.

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.