Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Insider Laura H. Bethge Sells 14,992 Shares

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL traded down $19.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $244.20. 8,814,444 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,425,559. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $65.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $113.56 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $244.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.77.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 issued a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Formidable Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 121.6% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 6,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,392,000 after buying an additional 3,312 shares during the period. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 95.8% during the fourth quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 9,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,289,000 after buying an additional 4,850 shares during the period. Finally, Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 173.9% during the fourth quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,159,000 after buying an additional 3,190 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.