Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Reduces Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lessened its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 93.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,680 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,508 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $707,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company's stock worth $6,476,003,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068,114 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $199,327,000 after acquiring an additional 502,349 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $69,556,000. 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 worth $28,349,000 after buying an additional 117,152 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 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. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of RCL traded down $3.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $190.09. The stock had a trading volume of 995,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,340,932. The firm has a market cap of $51.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The stock's 50 day moving average is $221.66 and its 200 day moving average is $225.48. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RCL has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Loop Capital raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "hold" rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.