Vanguard Group Inc. Has $6.48 Billion Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,072,316 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,068,114 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.44% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $6,476,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on RCL. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $262.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $282.33.

Remove Ads

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded down $9.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $207.35. 2,547,926 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,316,864. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $125.06 and a 1-year high of $277.08. The firm has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $238.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.27. 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 data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS 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 last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,021,265.74. This trade represents a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

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.