Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Stock Holdings Lessened by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 67.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,916 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,766 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during 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 fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction 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 trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL traded up $3.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $211.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,349,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,325,300. The stock has a market cap of $56.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $213.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $130.08 and a 12 month 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 EPS 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RCL. Mizuho reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $253.00 price target (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Melius Research raised Royal Caribbean Cruises to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Loop Capital raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $272.53.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.