Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 72.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,997 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,046 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Little House Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 5,379 shares of the company's stock worth $1,241,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,155 shares of the company's stock worth $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Puff Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $3,572,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 71.2% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the company's stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2,042.8% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 122,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,349,000 after buying an additional 117,152 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
RCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Macquarie upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.12.
Check Out Our Latest Report on RCL
Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 0.5 %
Shares of RCL stock traded down $1.21 on Friday, hitting $242.68. 735,222 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,373,225. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $65.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 2.59. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $244.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.77. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $119.48 and a one year high of $277.08.
Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.
Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. 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 yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.
About Royal Caribbean Cruises
(
Free Report)
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.
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