M&T Bank Corp Buys 1,334 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,037 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,334 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $3,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL traded down $1.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $213.59. 4,740,051 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,632,598. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year 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 company has a market cap of $57.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $243.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.26.

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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, 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 prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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 authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders 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. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RCL. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.