Pitcairn Co. Trims Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Pitcairn Co. decreased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,999 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $243,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $385,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth $1,122,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on 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 increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.58.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % 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 in the last quarter. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $177.60 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $47.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $125.06 and a one year high of $277.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.82.

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, 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.