Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Bought by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 938,743 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 98,900 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.35% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $216,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RCL. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.6% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 26,425 shares of the company's stock worth $4,684,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 53.9% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,497 shares of the company's stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at about $396,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,379,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 66.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 137,149 shares of the company's stock worth $24,325,000 after purchasing an additional 54,561 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:RCL traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $191.98. 2,889,378 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,353,106. The stock has a market cap of $51.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $125.06 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $224.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually 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 was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost 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 1.56%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $253.00 target price (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Loop Capital raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $276.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.