Jason T. Liberty Sells 58,000 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $244.20 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $113.56 and a one year high of $277.08. The company has a market cap of $65.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 2.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $244.57 and a 200-day moving average of $211.77. 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 (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be 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 is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% in the fourth 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. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.