Assetmark Inc. Decreases Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Assetmark Inc. lowered its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 109,926 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,723 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $25,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE RCL opened at $231.33 on Thursday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $124.24 and a 12 month high of $277.08. The stock has a market cap of $62.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $244.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.50. 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 (NYSE:RCL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,021,265.74. This trade represents a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on RCL. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Macquarie lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.53.

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.