Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Buys 282,571 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 411.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 351,256 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 282,571 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.13% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $81,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 100.0% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $295.00 to $275.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.55.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $220.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $209.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $130.08 and a twelve month high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.