Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,847 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,133 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.05% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $33,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 6,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 14.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15.6% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 854 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, Atom Investors LP increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 28.7% during the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 1,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $207.35 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $238.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $125.06 and a twelve month high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.33.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.