Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA decreased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,268,658 shares of the company's stock after selling 512,485 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 1.59% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $984,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,530,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 76.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,142,000 after buying an additional 12,530 shares in the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company's stock worth $67,137,000 after acquiring an additional 7,740 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last ninety days. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:RCL traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $215.76. The stock had a trading volume of 3,608,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,274,387. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $240.22 and a 200 day moving average of $220.81. The company 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. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $125.06 and a one year high of $277.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. 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 1.39%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RCL. Argus raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.