Hanlon Investment Management Inc. Takes $893,000 Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Hanlon Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $893,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company's stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 76.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,991 shares of the company's stock worth $5,142,000 after purchasing an additional 12,530 shares during the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,373,856,000 after buying an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on RCL shares. Mizuho reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $253.00 price objective (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Macquarie upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $276.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total value of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,021,265.74. The trade was a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $192.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,167,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,336,920. 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 company has a market capitalization of $51.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $127.10 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $218.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.35.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.