Ieq Capital LLC Sells 6,760 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Ieq Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 50.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,594 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,760 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 76.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,142,000 after purchasing an additional 12,530 shares in the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,137,000 after purchasing an additional 7,740 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RCL has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Macquarie raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE RCL opened at $237.49 on Tuesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $119.48 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The stock has a market cap of $63.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $244.24 and a 200-day moving average of $213.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost 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 1.26%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.06%.

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

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.