Sims Investment Management LLC Makes New $346,000 Investment in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Sims Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $346,000. Royal Caribbean Cruises accounts for 0.2% of Sims Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired 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 and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded down $1.40 on Monday, reaching $244.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,162,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,473,005. The company has a market cap of $65.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $124.24 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The business's 50 day moving average is $244.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.35. 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 (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. 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 yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a "hold" rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 143,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last quarter. 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.