Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Invests $271,000 in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of RCL. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,327,000 after buying an additional 502,349 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth approximately $69,556,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2,042.8% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 122,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,349,000 after buying an additional 117,152 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.2% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 161,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,703,000 after purchasing an additional 93,899 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $14,544,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $231.33 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $244.35 and its 200-day moving average is $217.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $124.24 and a 52 week high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on RCL. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.