Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC decreased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 200,996 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,306 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $46,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,812 shares of the company's stock worth $5,642,000 after buying an additional 10,412 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth about $4,779,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 6,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on RCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $253.00 price objective (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $279.58.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL traded up $2.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $207.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,077,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,322,585. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $237.20 and a 200 day moving average of $224.72. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $125.06 and a twelve month high of $277.08. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. 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 1.44%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

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.