HUB Investment Partners LLC Acquires 1,606 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 109.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,077 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 52,597 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 196.8% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,006 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 14,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,417,000 after purchasing an additional 3,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 41,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,543,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:RCL traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $215.76. 3,608,502 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,274,948. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $125.06 and a 12-month high of $277.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. 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 50 day moving average price of $240.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $221.60.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $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 quarter, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on RCL. Argus raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.53.

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.