Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Acquired by Johnson Financial Group Inc.

Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 65.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 826 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,530,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $231,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,137,000 after buying an additional 7,740 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 three months, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on RCL shares. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $279.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price target on the stock. Macquarie raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $308.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $272.85.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $212.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $130.08 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The company has a market capitalization of $57.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $211.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.84.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 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.