Mizuho Securities USA LLC Buys 8,088 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 52.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,445 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,088 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $5,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 11.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 23,040 shares of the company's stock worth $4,086,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 28.5% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 64,321 shares of the company's stock worth $11,408,000 after acquiring an additional 2,251 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $375,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 1.2 %

RCL stock traded down $2.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $217.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,684,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,268,944. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $125.06 and a 52 week high of $277.08. The company has a market capitalization of $58.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $239.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.98.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on RCL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $262.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $282.33.

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.