Swiss National Bank Has $159.37 Million Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Swiss National Bank cut its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 690,838 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.26% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $159,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company's stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company's stock worth $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 76.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,991 shares of the company's stock worth $5,142,000 after acquiring an additional 12,530 shares during the period. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,137,000 after purchasing an additional 7,740 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL traded up $7.69 during trading on Monday, hitting $219.71. The stock had a trading volume of 2,659,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,267,089. The firm has a market cap of $59.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $125.06 and a 12 month high of $277.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.25.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change 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 1.37%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is 28.06%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Loop Capital upgraded 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.