Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Position Boosted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 291,027 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,740 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $67,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position 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 worth $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 76.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,991 shares of the company's stock worth $5,142,000 after purchasing an additional 12,530 shares in the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $800,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 541.0% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,283,000 after buying an additional 8,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 725,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,699,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE:RCL traded down $9.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $234.42. 2,715,369 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,426,789. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $119.48 and a twelve month high of $277.08. The company has a market cap of $63.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 2.59. 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 fifty day moving average price is $244.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.77.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Tigress Financial raised 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 note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.12.

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.