Ellis Investment Partners LLC Trims Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC lowered its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 352 shares during the quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10,599.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 409,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,696,000 after buying an additional 406,048 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2,042.8% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 122,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,349,000 after buying an additional 117,152 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 161,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,703,000 after buying an additional 93,899 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,544,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3,935.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 76,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,635,000 after buying an additional 74,966 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $262.99 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $243.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.77. 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 twelve month low of $113.10 and a twelve month high of $277.08. The stock has a market cap of $70.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 20.58%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on RCL. Citigroup boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Macquarie boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price target (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total transaction of $763,922.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,348 shares in the company, valued at $5,243,287.76. This trade represents a 12.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total value of $53,732,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,556,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,335,253,633.20. This represents a 1.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 392,109 shares of company stock valued at $92,652,468. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.