Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 156,090 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,650 shares during the period. Royal Caribbean Cruises accounts for approximately 1.7% of Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $36,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth about $231,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,373,856,000 after buying an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,137,000 after buying an additional 7,740 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $190.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $216.22 and a 200 day moving average of $226.27. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $129.54 and a 12 month high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire 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 shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Macquarie increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,021,265.74. The trade was a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.