Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 353,893 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RCL. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.8% in the 3rd 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 raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 14.8% in the third 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. lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 854 shares of the company's stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, Atom Investors LP grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 1,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of NYSE:RCL traded down $11.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $177.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,319,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,330,142. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, 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 company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $234.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.82.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on RCL. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $279.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company's 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 owns 21,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm'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 value of $5,005,260.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % 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. 7.95% of the stock is currently 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.