Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,969,532 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 353,893 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.22% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $1,373,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.8% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 6,080 shares of the company's stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,327 shares of the company's stock worth $1,654,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 854 shares of the company's stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Atom Investors LP boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 1,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $262.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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, Mizuho reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $279.58.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded down $11.05 on Friday, hitting $177.60. The stock had a trading volume of 5,319,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,335,926. The stock has a market cap of $47.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G 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 Ltd. has a 52-week low of $125.06 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The company's 50 day moving average price is $235.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.38.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

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.