Sirios Capital Management L P Sells 22,768 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Sirios Capital Management L P decreased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 44.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,036 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,768 shares during the period. Royal Caribbean Cruises accounts for 1.2% of Sirios Capital Management L P's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Sirios Capital Management L P's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $6,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $707,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,476,003,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company's stock worth $199,327,000 after purchasing an additional 502,349 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company's stock worth $1,373,856,000 after purchasing an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15,633.2% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 353,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,663,000 after buying an additional 351,746 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RCL. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $262.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.84.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $199.99 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $130.08 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The company's 50-day moving average is $215.02 and its 200 day moving average is $226.09. 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 results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.06%.

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.

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