Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Bought by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,364,794 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 319,264 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $545,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth about $707,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,476,003,000 after buying an additional 2,068,114 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,327,000 after buying an additional 502,349 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 353,893 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15,633.2% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 353,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,663,000 after acquiring an additional 351,746 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total value of $4,447,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,021,265.74. This represents a 28.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCL has been the subject of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.85.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL opened at $216.49 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $210.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.91. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $130.08 and a 12-month high of $277.08. 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 firm has a market cap of $58.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.77 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a share 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 reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.