Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Buys 9,031 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 136.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,660 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,031 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $3,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,854,905,000 after acquiring an additional 278,860 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 worth $6,476,003,000 after buying an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $1,373,856,000 after buying an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth about $707,833,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,519,000 shares of the company's stock worth $350,418,000 after acquiring an additional 48,480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup boosted 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. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $262.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $272.53.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded up $3.99 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $211.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,515,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,322,596. The firm has a market cap of $57.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $130.08 and a one year high of $277.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.18.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.