Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,885,244 shares of the company's stock after selling 305,137 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.70% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $434,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the company's stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 155,590 shares of the company's stock worth $35,893,000 after acquiring an additional 17,385 shares during the period. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. now owns 33,376 shares of the company's stock worth $7,700,000 after purchasing an additional 3,849 shares during the last quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. now owns 483,226 shares of the company's stock worth $111,475,000 after acquiring an additional 28,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,854,905,000 after acquiring an additional 278,860 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company'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 represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 4.0 %

NYSE:RCL traded up $8.02 on Wednesday, hitting $207.69. The stock had a trading volume of 2,849,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,328,537. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $130.08 and a 52 week high of $277.08. The business's fifty day moving average is $215.02 and its 200 day moving average is $226.09. The company has a market cap of $55.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26.

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 earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $272.53.

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.