Wealthfront Advisers LLC Grows Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,214 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,992 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $6,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded up $4.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $212.33. The stock had a trading volume of 2,380,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,265,512. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $57.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $125.06 and a 1-year high of $277.08. The stock's fifty day moving average is $241.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.88.

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 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 period last year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is 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.