Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Purchased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 145,847 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,133 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.05% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $33,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 198,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,758,000 after buying an additional 36,519 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $707,833,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,183 shares of the company's stock worth $2,580,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 23,627 shares of the company's stock worth $5,451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 387,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,700,000 after buying an additional 31,814 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $279.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 directly 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 accessible through the SEC website. 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded up $2.43 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $207.87. The company had a trading volume of 2,077,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,322,585. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $237.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $125.06 and a 1-year high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 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 company earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.