Jump Financial LLC Cuts Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Jump Financial LLC lowered its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 87.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,310 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,646 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $764,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL stock opened at $199.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $53.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $130.08 and a 12-month high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.84.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.