Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by Capital International Inc. CA

Capital International Inc. CA reduced its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 537,448 shares of the company’s stock after selling 92,068 shares during the quarter. Royal Caribbean Cruises comprises 1.5% of Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Capital International Inc. CA owned 0.20% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $123,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors raised its stake 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 worth $6,854,905,000 after buying an additional 278,860 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,068,114 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 353,893 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at about $707,833,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,519,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,418,000 after buying an additional 48,480 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. This trade 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 worth $28,571,705 in the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on RCL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Macquarie boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 0.4 %

RCL opened at $192.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $217.55 and its 200-day moving average is $225.48. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $127.20 and a 1-year high of $277.08.

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

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

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.