O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Acquires 3,918 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,387 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,918 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $6,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of RCL. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 8,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $231,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at $5,322,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,221,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 53,628 shares of the company's stock worth $12,482,000 after buying an additional 17,994 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 5.9 %

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded down $11.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $177.60. The stock had a trading volume of 5,319,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,335,926. 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 capitalization of $47.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $125.06 and a 52 week high of $277.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $235.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.38.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company posted $1.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $262.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $279.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm'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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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. Insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 in the last three months. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.