Sovran Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 1,721 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 257.4% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 168 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on RCL. StockNews.com raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $253.00 price target (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.12.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total value of $763,922.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,243,287.76. This trade represents a 12.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 392,109 shares of company stock valued at $92,652,468. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded up $2.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $262.99. 1,308,339 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,415,259. The company has a 50 day moving average of $243.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $113.10 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock has a market cap of $70.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved 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 purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.