Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc cut its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 30.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,110 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,346 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Colonial River Investments LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 1,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $242,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on RCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $238.01 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $121.18 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $244.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.84. The firm has a market cap of $64.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 EPS. Research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.06%.

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.